


Lily Potter and the Millennium Serpent

by colcustard



Series: Lily Potter [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Book 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Female Harry, Female Harry Potter, Gen, Hogwarts, POV Female Character, Quidditch, Retelling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 169,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26897590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colcustard/pseuds/colcustard
Summary: Lily Potter returned from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for once in her life, happy and healthy. Over the summer, she receives a grave warning: Hogwarts isn't safe anymore. She returns to her chosen home, heedless, and something begins attacking her fellow students as the Chamber of Secrets is opened once more. Will Lily find the Heir of Slytherin in time, or will she fall victim to the Millennium Serpent? Sequel to Lily Potter and the Enchanted Mirror.
Series: Lily Potter [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987975
Comments: 21
Kudos: 143





	1. Chapter 1

Lily Potter’s eyes flickered open, then quickly closed again. She thought she had heard a noise in the room, but the light had blinded her before she could verify. She tried again, squinting in the light. She thought she saw a figure standing at the foot of her bed. She rubbed at her eyes, and then open them again.

Her ginger cat, Weasley, stretched at the foot of the mattress, then hopped down from the floor. He walked to the door, meowing for his master to get up.

Lily grumbled, and then rolled over, throwing a pillow over her head to block out both light and sound. She had been up late last night, writing a new story by candlelight. She hadn’t quite figured out the specifics yet; she was just experimenting and having fun. She wouldn’t be able to finish it before school started again, and she’d never risk actually taking them to the castle with her. She didn’t want anybody else getting into them.

Weasley jumped onto the bed, choosing to stand on top of the pillow that was covering Lily’s head. She groaned, trying to swipe him off it. Weasley swatted at her hand, meowing incessantly.

“Fine,” Lily said, throwing the pillow off her head. “I’ll get up, happy?” Lily sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She yawned, then stretched, then threw her legs over the side of the bed. She cursed, having stepped on something sharp. When she checked below, she couldn’t find anything. She checked her foot again, and while there was a red welt from where the pressure had come from, there didn’t appear to be a puncture or cut.

Weasley jumped back down, pawing at the door. Lily stood and opened it for him, moving carefully to avoid stepping on anything else, and the cat ran out into the hallway. Lily laid back down across her bed, staring at the ceiling. She wondered if she’d be able to get some more sleep before Gran called for her.

“Lily,” a voice called from the kitchen. “You finally up? Get down here!”

“Coming, Gran,” Lily shouted back, hopping up from bed again. She turned right as she left her room, noting that Neville’s door was already open. He was probably out in the garden; he’d spent most of the summer there. Lily had a vague impression that he was trying to avoid her, although she didn’t know why.

She took the stairs slowly; last time she had hurried down, she had fallen. She didn’t know why she was so clumsy lately, but she hoped it would end before she went back to school. Gran had yet to let it go, and if she was going to continue to make fun of Lily for it, then her friends at school would definitely never give it up.

Lily turned the corner to the kitchen, then stumbled over Weasley, who had been laying at the entrance. She caught herself just in time, grabbing onto a nearby chair for support. The cat yowled, running for cover.

“Easy there, girl,” Gran said from her seat at the table. She didn’t look up from _The Daily Prophet_ she had been reading. “Don’t need you breaking another chair,” she said, chuckling to herself.

“I haven’t broken a chair,” Lily grumbled, taking a seat across from Gran. Gran was wearing a set of dark blue robes today and had, thankfully, taken off the stuffed vulture she usually wore on her head. Her gray hair was tied back in a tight bun. She wore the same tight frown she always had plastered on her face. She very rarely smiled; and Lily was never sure if it was genuine when she _did_.

“Don’t be so grumpy,” Gran said, taking a sip of her tea.

The teapot flew from the countertop nearby, filling a cup that had placed itself in front of Lily. The pan flew by soon after, piling eggs onto her plate, and soon enough, toast was flying across the room as well.

Lily took a look around the table as she picked up her fork. “Where’s Neville?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“He’s tending to the garden. That bush you gave him is blooming, and he wanted to check if the scents changed yet.” Gran took another sip of her tea as the turned the page of her newspaper. “I don’t know why he’s bothering, he’ll be lucky if it happens in his lifetime at all.”

“Anything interesting happen today?” Lily asked, pointing at the paper with the toast she had in her hand.

“Not a thing,” Gran said. “That Lockhart fellow is supposed to be in Diagon Alley in a couple of weeks, though, for his new book.”

“Who is he?” Lily finished off her plate of eggs, starting on the toast she had been holding. She had a system she liked to use for breakfast: eggs first (so they didn’t get cold), then toast, then the bacon (or sausage, if that was what Gran had picked that morning). The Longbottoms always had the same breakfast; Lily had yet to see it change. Not that she minded; It was hard to go wrong with a plate of bacon and eggs.

“Some upstart who thinks he’s the hottest thing since sliced bread,” Gran said, as Lily chewed on her slice of hot bread.

“You don’t sound like you like him,” Lily said.

Gran scoffed. “Why would I? The man’s a fool, any person with sense can see that.” Lily eyed the smiling, handsome man on the front page. He certainly _seemed_ trustworthy, with his well-kept hair and his fancy smile. He reminded her of the movie stars Aunt Petunia would always pretend to be disinterested in. Lily wondered if Gran was trying to pull the same stunt.

Lily drained the rest of her tea, wishing it was pumpkin juice instead. She didn’t like to have a cup until after breakfast, but in Gran’s house, it was Gran’s rules. The breakfast teas were a little too bitter for her tastes, but Gran wouldn’t allow sugar or even a dash of milk with them. She said the bitterness helped to wake up. Lily thought she just didn’t want to give the kids any extra energy.

“Your birthday is in a few days,” Gran said not looking up.

“Is it?” Lily said, knowing full well that it was. She had been hoping the old lady would remember without anyone’s help. She’d never had any family members who had before. She had only reminded the Dursleys once, when she was 8.

The prior years, she had been treated quite well, actually (at least so far as the Dursleys were concerned; she had still been confined to the cupboard, but at least she had been allowed to _do_ things), but that was the year her magic had appeared. She didn’t know what it was (at the time), or why the Dursleys suddenly treated her like an outsider, but she had quickly learned to never ask for anything ever again. She had been trying to break that habit, but like everything else she was used to, it was very difficult to do so.

“I think you already know,” Gran said, not missing anything. “I think we’ll go to Diagon Alley that day. We can celebrate yours and Neville’s together.”

“I thought we were going on the fifteenth with the Weasleys?” Lily asked. She had been looking forward to it all summer. She had even been keeping a little calendar in her rooms, knocking off the days as they passed. She’d never been invited to visit anyone before, and she was thrilled to experience it.

“I’m sure they’ll be willing to go a day early,” Gran said, rolling her eyes as she set down the paper. “They’re likely planning to throw you a party, anyway, might as well do it on the proper day.”

“What about Neville?” Lily asked, biting her lip our of nervousness. As to _why_ she was nervous, not even she could say. It was a feeling she felt often.

“What did I say about biting that lip, child?” Gran snapped.

Lily quickly let the lip go. Gran was trying to break all of her bad habits over the summer. Lily had a habit of pulling on her tie as well, and Gran had been making her wear one every day. So far, none of her efforts had paid off. Lily had just gotten better at sneaking them. Unfortunately, Gran was also getting better at catching them.

“What about Neville?” Lily repeated, properly this time, without even twitching a single muscle. Thankfully, Gran couldn’t see Lily wringing her hands under the table.

“I’m sure he won’t mind celebrating a day late,” Gran said, standing up from her seat. “I better go write the Weasleys, give them plenty of time to respond.”

Lily stood as well. “Did the post come yet?” She had been expecting a letter for weeks now, but as of yet hadn’t received a response. She kept getting her hopes up every day, only to be left crushed.

“Nothing for you today either, Lily,” Gran said as she went out the front door.

Lily frowned. She turned to head up the stairs, feeling dejected once again. She was waiting on her friend, Hermione, who she had written on the very first day of the break. She had borrowed an owl from Gran, who had suggested waiting a week, but Lily had been unable to do so. Hermione was a muggle born, but had a snowy owl of her own (that Lily had bought her for Christmas). They had gotten into a fight at the end of last year (which was very much Lily’s fault), but she had promised to try making up over the summer. So far, the promise had gone unfulfilled, despite Lily’s best efforts.

She sent out four more letters in the two weeks after, but Gran had made her stop before the fifth one. She said she’d annoy the girl even more if she kept on bombarding her with letters, and that would make her even more unlikely to respond. Lily had been heartbroken, of course, but she figured all she could do was wait for the other girl to get over herself.

Lily closed her door behind when she got back to her room, starting to feel slightly better in the solitude. She knew Weasley would be roaming around for hours before he returned for his cat nap. He’d likely get outside somehow and go bother Neville in the garden.

Neville was her other friend, and the one whose house she was currently living in. She was brought here the last summer, after being rescued from her old family. Neville hadn’t spent much time with Lily over the summer. He had always been nervous when it was just the two of them, but he seemed to have no problems when others were around. She was hoping he’d be friendlier once they both went to the actual Weasleys for the rest of the summer.

Lily sat down at her desk, blowing a puff of air into her bangs. It wasn’t just Hermione who she hadn’t heard from. She hadn’t received any mail at all since the summer began. She lived with Neville, so he had no reason to write, but not even Hagrid, the friendly groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had written back. And he was the one who had insisted she write in the first place!

Ron, her last friend (who was really more of Neville’s, but he hung around Lily anyway), also hadn’t written, but nobody had expected him to. He was by far the least open about his feelings, and had problems even participating in a group hug. Lily would have been more worried if he _had_ written.

Overall, it had been a lousy summer, even if it thoroughly outclassed her previous ones. She chalked her misery up to being used to a better life.

Lily leaned back in her chair, not interested in working right now. She could see Neville working in the garden from her window. She got up from her chair, stretching, deciding a shower was in order. She grabbed a fresh, gray vest, a white undershirt, and a pair of black trousers from her wardrobe, as well as a matching red tie. She’d leave it loose whenever Gran wasn’t around, but she’d make sure to tighten before going downstairs for anything.

Thirty minutes later, Lily left the bathroom, refreshed and feeling much less greasy. The nights had been getting very warm, and she had taken to sleeping under a single, thin blanket; even then, she was still very sweaty once she woke.

Lily wondered how Gran and Neville could stand the house being so warm; surely a wizard family would have better ways of maintaining comfortable temperatures with all the different sorts of magic they have at their disposal, but, yet, the house was always uncomfortably hot.

She fastened an earring to her right ear. It was made of ruby, and shaped in the form of a lightning bolt. She liked that it matched her scar, and was even her birthstone. She had gotten two of them in a Christmas cracker at school, and then subsequently lost one in a detention after she blew up a bush.

She went downstairs, heading straight out the back door. She rolled up her sleeves as she walked towards the garden, deciding she didn’t want to get them dirty. Gran could clean it no problem, but she’d still get an earful for the stains. It was better to avoid them entirely. She was usually very pale, but her face, neck, and arms had been getting a nice tan over the summer from the few times she had helped Neville in the garden.

“Hey, Neville,” Lily said, pulling on a pair of dragonhide gloves they kept in the shed. Neville had left them out on a nearby table, along with a few tools he had been using.

Neville looked up from the plot he was tending. “Hey, Lily,” he said, quickly looking back down. His chubby face was covered in dirt and sweat; he had clearly been at this awhile.

“Need some help?” Lily said, grabbing a pair of clippers.

Neville glanced up, then quickly back down. “If you could trim the hedges for me, that’d be great.” The garden was Neville’s favorite place in the entire world; his favorite subject at school had always been Herbology. It was the only subject he truly excelled at, and he clearly had a passion for it that was matched only by the professor of the class.

Lily sighed. “I just did that yesterday!” She stomped towards the hedges, frowning. They were now taller than they had been when she started work yesterday. She grabbed the hedge trimmers from the table, giving them a good couple of _snips_ to test them out.

“The fairies like to come by in the night and replenish them,” Neville said, carefully pruning a rosebush. “You’ll have to trim them shorter if you want them to be a normal size tomorrow.”

“Why are fairies such pricks?” Lily asked as she started her work, very satisfied at how quickly the blades ran through the hedges.

“I wouldn’t let them hear you,” Neville said, “You don’t want to get on their bad side.”

“Please, Neville, we learned all about them last year. They’re nowhere near as bad as the Muggles believe.”

“Well, no,” Neville said, “Not here, anyway. I’ve heard the sort in Ireland are really nasty, though. You wouldn’t want to get them angry.”

“If you say so, Neville,” Lily said, trying to get done with the clipping as quickly as she could. While this was the only way she could get Neville to have a conversation with her, she still didn’t want to be out under the sun for too long; she burned quite easily.

Lily wiped the sweat from her forehead, making sure to scratch her scar as she did so. It always itched when she was hot. She was just thankful it hadn’t hurt in a while. At the end of the school year, she had gotten into a rough spot of trouble, and the scar had throbbed so badly she was convinced her head was splitting open.

Lily clipped through a rather thick part of branches and brambles, and then paused. She did a doubletake, staring back at the section she had just finished.

Two large pairs of green eyes were staring at her from the section of hedge a few feet away. Lily stared back, not sure what was happening. They were still there when Lily blinked. She thought about rubbing her eyes, but she thought that’d give away that she had noticed.

“Uh, Neville?” She asked, not daring to break eye contact.

“Hmm?”

“How big are fairies supposed to be?”

“Not very big. About the size of your palm. Why?”

The eyes blinked, then opened again. They were about the size of Lily’s palm, sure, but that was each of the two. Unless there were two fairies, and their entire body mass was a single eyeball, there was no way this was a pair of them.

Lily looked back towards Neville, trying to grab his attention.

“Neville?” She called out.

“Yeah?” Neville said, looking up from where he was working. He wiped sweat from his brow, which only served to smear the dirt across his face.

“What’s that?” Lily asked, nudging her head in the direction of the eyes.

Neville stared for a moment, his face unchanging. “It’s a hedge, Lily. Are you alright?”

“Not the hedge, Neville, the eyes.”

“What eyes?” Neville asked, brow furrowing.

Lily turned back around. “The eyes, Neville, right-“ Lily stopped as she pointed at the hedge. The eyes were now gone, only green shrubbery remaining.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Lily?” Neville asked again. “Maybe you should head inside, I think the sun’s getting to you.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Lily grumbled. She wiped her forehead again. “I’ll finish the hedges first, at least,” she said, getting back to work. She made sure to keep an eye on everything she could see. She had the distinct feeling that they were being watched by something.

Lily rose earlier the next morning, making sure to grab a shower first. Neville tended to use up all the hot water in his incredibly long showers. Lily wore a red vest today over another white shirt and tan trousers. She chose a black tie, and left it untied around her neck. The earring she put back onto her right ear. She let her long, red hair fall loose around her shoulders, although she made sure to brush out any knots first. She threw on a pair of slick, black shoes that barely fit.

“Morning,” Lily said as she sat down across from Gran, fastening her tie. She picked up her cup of tea with her free hand while the other finished tucking the neckwear.

Gran grunted in response. “You got mail,” she said, sipping her morning tea.

Lily set her own cup down in excitement. “From Hermione?”

“Hogwarts,” Gran grunted.

“Oh,” Lily said, significantly less excited. “It came later this year. Last year I got mine right after June ended.”

“Course you did,” Gran said, looking up from her daily newspaper. “I told you that muggle-raised children always get theirs earlier, didn’t I?”

Lily blushed. “Oh, yeah, I remember now,” she said, telling a bald-faced lie. Gran likely had told her, but she had no memory of the event.

“You forgot, child, no need to lie.,” Gran said, nothing getting past her. She took another sip of her tea while the magical cookware served Lily breakfast. Lily ate a forkful, noticing for the first time that Gran never seemed to eat any breakfast.

“You’ve grown again,” Gran croaked.

“Have I?” Lily asked, looking at herself more closely.

“Your wrists and ankles are showing again.”

Lily looked down. She supposed they were, although she wouldn’t have noticed. “I need some new shoes, too. These ones don’t have any toe room.”

“They’ll do you until the end of summer,” Gran said, sniffing, “But it looks like I’ll have to buy you yet another new wardrobe for next year.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Lily offered, “I have my own Gringotts vault.”

“Nonsense,” Gran said, waving her hand, “While you’re under my roof, I’ll be feeding and clothing you.”

“Thanks, Gran,” Lily said, offering a smile. She wasn’t used to having people offer to but her things, and she wasn’t sure if she ever would be. Still, she’d take the offer, if only because Gran would never back down on the issue.

“Would you like some more dresses, or are you satisfied with your current clothes?”

Lily considered it for a moment, trying to figure out which answer would please the old woman more. “I like my current clothes,” she said, gesturing to our current outfit.

Gran nodded in approval. “It’s a nice look for a proper witch. I didn’t like those sundresses you wore last summer.”

Lily frowned. “You’re the one that bought them, Gran.”

“I bought them because it was all I could find on short notice. The shirts and trousers I had to have tailored for you.”

“You did?”

“Of course. Can’t find a proper pair of women’s trousers that have actual pockets anywhere, not even in the muggle shops.” Gran took a sip of her tea, the cup having been refilled by a passing teapot. “It’s criminal, it is.”

“Well, thanks, Gran, I really like them.” Lily genuinely meant it. She had to wear a skirt for her school uniform last year, but this year, she was thinking of going for trousers like Ron and Neville wore. She hadn’t seen any rule forbidding it, and she hoped her head of house wouldn’t find reason to complain.

“You should still be wearing your robes, though. I got you some nice ones, I thought.”

“It’s too hot out,” Lily said. She _did_ have some rather nice robes, but the last time she had worn one outside, the heat had nearly made her pass out. It was easier at school, where the temperatures were far cooler. Even the hottest days didn’t compare to _here_.

“It’s been a real scorcher lately, hasn’t it?” Gran said, sipping her tea again.

“I thought I was going to die yesterday, helping Neville out in the garden.”

“Should have left him to it. If the fool wants to keep it, he can do so himself. I can’t stand being out there, either.”

Lily considered something for a moment. “Gran?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever seen a pair of large, green eyes staring at you around the house?”

Gran looked up from her newspaper, eyebrow raised. “What on earth are you talking about, girl?”

Lily bit her lip, earning a “tut tut” from Gran. “When I was in the garden with Neville yesterday, trimming the hedges, I saw a pair of eyes watching me from the bushes. I was just wondering if you’d seen anything.”

“The only green eyes I’ve seen around here are yours,” Gran said, going back to her news. “And the cat, too, I guess.”

“Weasley?” Lily asked.

“What other cat is there?”

“Gran, Weasley has gold eyes, not green.”

Gran looked up from her newspaper again, brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

“I think I know the color of my cat’s eyes, yes,” Lily said, rolling her own eyes.

“Don’t get snippy,” Gran said, laying her folded newspaper on the table. “I suppose I did see some green eyes around, then.”

“But I asked about large ones, and Weasley has small eyes.” She formed the shape of them with her hands, trying to give Gran a sense of how large they had been.

“Oh, well,” Gran said, standing up. “I had word from the Weasleys, by the way. We’ll be meeting them in Diagon Alley for your birthday. Do tell Neville for me.”

“Where are you going?” Lily asked as Gran headed towards the front door.

“Never you mind,” Gran replied, throwing on her large vulture hat. “I’ve got some errands to run. Keep the house clean for me, dear, if you would.” The front door closed behind Gran before Lily could respond.

Lily ate her last strip of bacon, then stood up. She grabbed the stack of letters from the countertop, flipping through until she found her name. She was disappointed to find only the one, but it was the most she’d gotten all summer, so she couldn’t complain too much. She turned the letter over, broke the wax seal, and brought out her letter.

Dear Miss Potter,

The next school term begins September 1st. The Hogwarts Express will leave from Kings Cross Station Platform 9 ¾ at precisely 11 am. If you are unable to board the train, please contact Hogwarts immediately.

You will find enclosed a list of necessary items and books for the second year. Make sure you pay special attention to those required for Defense Against the Dark Arts, as we will have a new professor joining us this year.

Second years are allowed a personal broomstick on the school grounds, and are allowed to try out for their house’s Quidditch teams without exceptions. Brooms must be provided by the student for try outs.

We look forward to having you for another year at Hogwarts.

Yours Truly,

Minerva McGonagall

Lily glanced at the book list, frowning. She hadn’t even heard of Gilderoy Lockhart before yesterday, but he had half a dozen books on the list. She wasn’t looking forward to the amount of cross-referencing she’d need to do before term started. She had been hoping for an easier workload, now that she knew what she was doing.

Lily tossed the booklist onto the counter, grabbing a slice of toast as she went back upstairs. She decided to spend today finishing the summer homework, so she could spend the rest of the break relaxing. She’d likely just let Ron and Neville copy it later, so they didn’t have to do it themselves. Lily left her door open as she came in, just in case Neville needed something. She heard him leave the house a couple of hours later, followed shortly after by the sounds of him working in the garden.

Lily heard Gran return home a few hours after that, just as she finished up her Potions work. That was the last of it, and she would now be free to do whatever she wants for the rest of the break.

“Lily!” She called. “Grab Neville, and then meet me in the parlour.”

“Yes, Gran,” Lily yelled back, stretching in her chair. She felt Weasley rub against her legs, and she scooped him up before she stood. Lily carried him over to the window, resting him in one arm as she threw it open.

“Neville!” she called out.

Neville looked up from the garden, wiping his brow. “What?” He called back.

“Gran needs us in the parlour,” Lily said, “Get in here.”

“Give me five minutes.” He said, getting back to work.

Lily huffed and then closed her window. She carried Weasley downstairs, feeling daring enough to blow a raspberry on his tummy. He swatted at her face, nibbling on her hand. She almost slipped, but managed to catch herself on the banister. Weasley jumped out of her arms after that, which left her disappointed, but she completely understood the reasoning.

Lily tried to open the parlour door, but found it was locked. She knocked.

“Gran?”

“Is Neville with you?” she said through the door.

“No, he said he’d be in shortly.”

“You’ll have to wait, then,” Gran responded. “I’ll let you in once I’m done in here.”

Lily huffed, leaning against the wall. Weasley was rubbing himself against her legs, purring, which warmed her heart. The cat had been a lot more affectionate over the summer, now that Lavender Brown wasn’t there to compete for his attention.

Neville came in soon after, hurrying to the kitchen to wash his face and hands, making Lily wait even longer. She could hear the sink running, and she started tapping her foot, feeling very impatient.

“Come on, Neville,” she said, “Don’t make me wait forever.”

“Just go on without me, then,” he shouted from the kitchen.

“I can’t, Gran won’t let me.”

“Will you two be quiet,” Gran shouted through the door. “The whole neighborhood can hear you.”

“Gran,” Lily said, rolling her eyes, “the nearest house is five kilometers away.”

“Which makes it all the more impressive,” Gran responded.

Neville rounded the corner, freshened up. Lily wasted no time in knocking on the door again.

“He’s here, Gran, can we come in now?”

“Neville?” Gran called.

“Yes, Gran, I’m here,” Neville said.

The door clicked, and Gran opened it to let the two in.

Lily let Neville go in first, since it was his house. She followed in shortly after.

The room was empty, which was unusual, considering it normally had furniture in it. Lily thought she had been hiding birthday presents, to be honest, not every single thing in the room.

“What’s going on, Gran?” Neville asked.

“Yeah., Gran, why’s the room empty?” Lily followed up.

“I figured it was time to teach you both another spell,” Gran said, whipping out her wand.

Lily bit her lip (causing Gran to narrow her eyes). “Gran, we aren’t allowed to do magic out of school.”

Gran rolled her eyes. “You both’ll be fine, so long as you do it while I’m around. I’m certainly not going to rat you out.”

Lily looked over to Neville, who shrugged as a response. Neville took out his wand, choosing obedience.

“Come on, Lily, it’ll be fun,” Gran said, assuming a stance. “If you get it right, I’ll even give you your present early.”

Lily pulled her tie (earning another glare from Gran). “I left my wand upstairs.”

“Well, go get it, then,” Gran said, exasperated. “Honestly what good is a witch if she can’t even remember to bring her wand with her?”

“I’m not used to-“

“Go,” Gran commanded, throwing her hands in the air.

Lily hurried to obey, fast walking out the door and running up the stairs. She grabbed her wand off the desk, then ran down the hall, taking the steps two at a time.

She made it down to the second-floor landing. As she took the first step, her foot slipped on something, and she tumbled down the rest of the staircase.

Lily swore as she hit every step, landing with an unsatisfying _crunch_ on the next landing. She groaned, wishing for death. She had felt something snap underneath her as she landed, and she had a brutal feeling she knew what it had been.

“Good lord,” Gran yelled from the parlour. “Are you alright, girl?”

“No,” Lily shouted, sitting up, staring at the consequences of her actions.

“Did you break anything?”

“My wand,” Lily said, staring at the two snapped halves of her hazel friend. She sniffed and rubbed at her eyes.

“Good lord,” Gran repeated.


	2. Missing Things

Lily didn’t want to Ron to find out about the wand incident. She had tried begging Gran to make an earlier trip, just to get a new one, that way nobody would find out.

“You think they won’t notice that you suddenly have a new wand?”

Lily bit her lip. “I don’t think Ron would notice, and that way, I won’t have to hear about it constantly.”

“Dearie,” Gran said, “If you think that boy isn’t going to milk it for all it’s worth, then you’re in for a rude awakening.”

All of Lily’s attempts had failed, and now, her birthday had arrived. She awoke feeling miserable, when she should have been excited. She hadn’t seen the Weasleys for a month, and she had been looking forward to finally meeting Ginny. She didn’t have very many female friends (or any at all, if Hermione continued ignoring her).

Lily threw on a green sweater vest and tan trousers after her shower. She didn’t bother with the tie today. She just wasn’t in the mood for it. Maybe Gran would cut her a little slack for once, on account of it being her special day.

She grabbed a matching green robe from her wardrobe, then turned to leave the room. She stopped, deciding to grab the invisibility cloak from her already packed trunk, just in case she wanted to sneak away by herself later today. It would be much easier to find Neville a birthday present if she could go about unseen. She closed the trunk again after digging the cloak out, and then tucked it into her robe as she left the room.

She turned back into her room, deciding to grab something else as well. She tossed the heavy trunk back onto her bed, then flipped it open. She dug around, trying to find it, then pulled out the key to her Gringotts vault. Gran probably wouldn’t let her buy the school supplies, but she could at least get out some spending money for whatever nonsense she wanted to buy. Lily clicked the trunk closed again, making sure to lock it, then set it back on the floor where it belonged.

She passed by her bookshelf on the way out, and stopped, picking up a photo album she displayed on the top. A photo of her mom and dad stared up at her, smiling for whoever the photographer was. A smile touched her own lips, and she flipped through the pictures, feeling warm inside.

“It’s my birthday,” she said, looking at a wedding photo. “I hope you’re both watching. I love you.”

Lily wiped the tears from her eyes when she was done, then set it back on the bookshelf. She had considered packing it to take to Hogwarts, but it was one of the few belongings she absolutely did not want to get damaged. It was safer here, where Gran could make sure it didn’t get touched.

Lily walked slowly down the staircase, not wanting to risk another tumble. She turned into the kitchen and took her customary seat across from Gran, her plate being filled by the customary flying pans.

“No tie today?” Gran asked, staring directly at Lily’s neck.

“No tie today,” Lily confirmed, eating a forkful of eggs, hoping she’d get away with it.

“Well, at least you can’t pull at it,” Gran said, sniffing. “It’s the small things, I suppose.”

“Are you sure we can’t go now?” Lily asked again, hoping the answer would be different. If she could get away with one thing, maybe she could get away with another.

“Well, we certainly can’t leave Neville behind, can we?” Gran took a sip of her tea, drumming her free hand on the table. That gave Lily means to pause. She _never_ had a free hand at the breakfast table.

“No Daily Prophet?” she asked, setting to work on her food. Eggs, bacon, toast.

Gran grumbled. “Not yet. Don’t know where that bird is. Should have been here by now.”

Lily frowned. _The Daily Prophet_ was never late. It was one of their trademarks that set them above the competitors.

“You shouldn’t frown so much, you’ll be much prettier if you smile.”

‘Thanks, Gran,” Lily said frowning more. “That really helps. Makes me feel really good.”

“When did you get so uppity?” Gran said, sniffing. “I seem to remember last year you were a terrified little girl who sat silent at the table every day.”

“I got used to you, I guess,” Lily said, finishing off her plate.

“You certainly eat a lot more, that’s for sure.”

“I’m a growing girl,” Lily said, grabbing some extra toast as it flew by.

“I noticed. You’ll definitely need new robes and shoes for school. I think I’ll wait on casual clothes until closer to next summer.”

Lily frowned again.

“Really, you should stop that,” Gran said.

“Does that mean I’ll have to wear school robes again?”

Gran rolled her eyes. “You’re still going on about that? How was I supposed to know how much you’d grown when you never write home?”

“I don’t have an owl,” Lily grumbled.

“That didn’t stop you from writing Mrs. Weasley, now did it?”

“Fine,” Lily said, losing her temper, “I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m getting too fat.”

Gran gave her a sharp look. “Who said you’re getting fat?”

“You said I eat too much,” Lily mumbled.

“Good lord, Lily,” Gran said, rolling her eyes, “Of course you eat too much, but that’s not a bad thing. You were half starved when you first got here.”

Lily pushed around a sausage on her plate. She didn’t even know where it came from, her plate had bacon before. She could have blamed Hermione, who always used to pile food on her plate for her, but as the girl was both not here _and_ not talking to Lily, thinking of her only served to dampen the mood further.

“Are you going to be grumpy all day?” Gran asked.

“No,” Lily said, sighing. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking of something, is all.”

“No harm done,” Gran said, drumming her fingers on the table.

“Is the mail here yet?” Lily asked, deciding to eat the mystery sausage. Maybe if Hermione had finally written back, she could send off a letter. If it got there in time, Hermione could still meet them in Diagon Alley.

“Not yet,” Gran answered, staring at Lily. She seemed to be considering something. Whenever she felt sorry for Lily, her face softened. She leaned forward. “Listen, Lily, I don’t think you should get your hopes up too much. That Hermione hasn’t written you all summer. Maybe it’s time to give it up.”

“She has to write this time,” Lily said, shaking her head. “It’s my birthday.”

“Suit yourself,” Gran said, shaking her own head. “But don’t you go sulking all day when you don’t get anything. I won’t have the Weasleys thinking I’m mistreating you.”

“I should have written her again, she could have joined us.” Lily voiced her thoughts, sulking. It sounded a little desperate outside her head.

“You’ll be getting your present later on,” Gran said, trying to change the subject. “I’ve got it hidden away here, but I’ll bring it with the rest of your things.”  
“You didn’t have to get me anything, Gran,” Lily said. It did manage to make her feel slightly better, though.

“You didn’t go arguing with me before you broke your wand,” Gran said, drumming her fingers again.

“I was focused on the new spell,” Lily grumbled. “Did Neville get it working yet?”

Gran rolled her eyes. “That boy? Not a chance. I don’t know how he made it through the last year.”

“I could have gotten it if you had just let me borrow his wand,” Lily said, drumming her own fingers on the table, unconsciously mimicking Gran.

“You reap what you sow,” Gran said, eyes glancing down at Lily’s hand. She smiled slightly. “Besides, his wand wouldn’t have work for you. It barely works for him.”

Lily frowned again. “Why doesn’t it work for him?”

“It’s his father’s old wand, remember?” Gran said, drinking some more tea.

“I thought her got a new wand last year?” Lily said. “You said-“

“I said we’d get one, yes, after you suggested it. But Neville insisted on using his father’s, and I didn’t have the heart to disagree with him.”

“But-“

“No more arguing, Lily,” Gran said. “Neville is allowed to use whatever wand he wants, so don’t go bothering _him_ either.”

“But-“

“Maybe I’ll have time you the spell before you get on the train,” Gran said, trying to change the subject again.

“You could have at least told me what it _was_ so I could practice,” Lily said, taking the bait.

“Don’t you go practicing at the Weasley’s,” Gran said, wagging a finger. “You’re not supposed to use magic out of school, and I don’t want them knowing I’ve been neglecting that rule.”

“But-“

“That isn’t up for debate,” Gran said. “You could get us _all_ in a lot of trouble if they find out.”

“Fine,” Lily said. “I’ll just work on my flying, then. I don’t want to fall off next year.” She had been considering rejoining the Quidditch team, if only to have an excuse to fly. The sport had terrified her last year, up until she actually got to play it. Then she was only scared when she was actively dying.

“Come to think of it,” Gran said, leaning forward, “I noticed you’re far more clumsy not than you were before. Any idea why?”

Lily blushed. “I dunno, I didn’t notice,” she half-lied, pulling at her earring. She had noticed, although she had no idea why.

“You’ve got to work on your tells,” Gran said, chuckling. “I suppose it’s the amount of growing you’ve done. Don’t know where your own two feet are anymore.”

“They’re at the end of my legs,” Lily said with a smile. Gran either didn’t notice, or didn’t care for the attempt. She was still staring outside.

“Ah, there’s the owl,” Gran said, standing up and walking over to the window. Lily gazed out, spying an owl carrying a package towards the window. Gran opened it, and the bird swooped right in, dropping a heavy, brown package onto the table. It swooped back out of the window without stopping, heading back to the sender.

“That’s too big to be your paper,” Lily said, getting up to check the cupboard. Gran kept half of it cool with what she called an “icebox charm,” and Lily wanted some pumpkin juice. She was sick of tea for every meal.

“It’s for you,” Gran said from the table.

Lily poured herself a glass of fresh, cold juice. “Who sent it?”

“Doesn’t say,” Gran replied. “Do you want to open it or should I?”

“It’s my mail,” Lily said setting her glass onto the table after drinking half of it in one go. “I’ll check it.”

“Suit yourself,” Gran grumbled, turning to stare back out the window, waiting for her morning newspaper. “Don’t blame me if someone sent you a cursed chess set.”

Lily tore a corner of the wrapping, then froze. “Why would someone do that?”

“It’s a joke, Lily, lighten up.”

“Well, it wasn’t very funny,” Lily said, tearing off the last bit of packaging. She stared down at the book she was now holding in her hands. “ _Advanced Potions Reagents: Secrets of the Potions Master?_ Why would someone send me a Potions book?”

Gran looked over curiously. “Check inside, maybe there’s a note.”

Lily opened the front cover, and a parchment fell onto the table. She set the book down carefully, and then picked up the message. “ _For your note-taking. Happy birthday._ That’s all it says.” Lily checked the back of the note, disappointed to see that there was still no name.

“Note-taking?” Gran asked. “What does that mean?”

“I’ve been leaving notes and tips in my textbooks,” Lily said, staring at the handwriting. It was small and neat and quite easy to read. Lily had briefly hoped the book was sent by Hermione, but it didn’t match hers. _She would have sent Hedwig anyway_ , Lily thought, _not some ruddy barn owl._

“Why on earth would you do that?” Gran asked in the high-pitched tone that denoted trouble was coming. “Do you have any idea how much those bloody things cost?”

Lily blushed, startled out of her musings. “Mr. Weasley suggested it. Besides, they’re my books, aren’t they? I can do what I want with them.”

“Well you can pay for your own books, then,” Gran said, “I’m not covering them if you’re just going to deface the things.”

“I’m not defacing them,” Lily said loudly, “And I wanted to do that anyway, but you wouldn’t let me!”

“Don’t go getting uppity again, girl,” Gran said, pointing a finger at Lily. “It might be your birthday, but that doesn’t mean you get to disrespect your elders.”

“I’m not!” Lily said. “You’re the one who blew up at _me_!”

“Morning,” Neville said, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the kitchen. He took a seat between the two women. “What are you fighting about now?”

“We’re not fighting,” Lily and Gran said at the same time, taking their own seats in a huff. Lily crossed her arms and legs, tapping her fingers against her bicep.

“Hurry up and eat,” Gran said, waving her wand at the pans so they’d deliver food faster. “We should be getting on our way soon.”

“What’s the hurry?” Neville asked, taking a bite of his breakfast. The sausage must have come from one of those pans; they were still popping as they fried. Lily hoped hers had been fully cooked, she hadn’t even considered the possibility that it hadn’t been.

“We’ll need to stop at Gringotts so Lily can get some money out of her vault.” Gran said, staring out the window again. “Where in the world is that bird?”

“Why does Lily need to go Gringotts?” Neville asked.

“So I can buy my own books,” Lily said grumpily.

“Drop the attitude, Lily,” Gran said.

“I don’t have an attitude, I was perfectly fine before you started in on me!”

“Don’t you start this again,” Gran said, raising her voice.

“I didn’t start anything!” Lily said.

“I thought you weren’t fighting,” Neville said.

Lily grumbled, crossing her arms again. Gran did the same from across the table.

“How are our trunks getting there?” Neville asked as he ate his food.

“Mr. Weasley will be coming to pick them up after work,” Gran said. “I’ll meet him here and then head over with him for the party.”

Lily frowned. “At the station, Mrs. Weasley said you’d be leaving after Diagon Alley.”

“Eager to get rid of me, eh?” Gran said, trying to instill a bit of positivity in her voice.

“No, I was wondering what changed.”

“Plans change all the time,” Gran said, waving her hand. “Go make sure you have all your things packed, I’d to leave on time today.”

Lily sighed, but got up from the table, heading upstairs while Neville finished his meal. She tossed her new Potions book on top of her bed, then grabbed Weasley’s cage from her closet. She looked around for the cat, then set the cage onto the floor when she failed to find him. She’d get him before they left; he was probably still out exploring.

Lily bent down to lift her trunk, preparing for the heavy weight. She grunted as she tried to lift, then stopped as she tossed it up onto her mattress with little effort. The trunk felt surprisingly light. Lily frowned, then flipped the locks up and threw the lid open.

Her trunk was empty. Lily put her hands on her hips, staring at the vacant space as if that would change anything. She walked over to her wardrobe once she failed, throwing it open to grab her robes. She must have just forgotten to pack everything. That was it, she _could_ be forgetful at times.

The wardrobe was empty too. Lily bit her lip, turning towards the bookshelf (which she really should have checked first). It, too, was empty.

“Gran?” Lily called downstairs, walking to the third-floor balcony.

“What?” Gran called from downstairs, voice sharp.

“Where did all my things go?”

“Good lord,” Gran said, barely audible. “What are you doing now, Lily? We have to leave soon.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Lily yelled, returning to her room. “All my things are gone.”

“Neville, go help her before I blow my lid.”

“I don’t need help,” Lily yelled, checking underneath her bed. Her notebooks were gone too. “Where did my _notebooks_ go?” Lily shrieked, losing her cool.

Lily could hear Neville running up the stairs. Lily came out from under the bed, running over to the hallway. She had a horrible, awful idea come to her while she was down there.

“Neville!” she said.

“What?” the plump boy responded, trying to catch his breath. He was bent over, leaning on his knees.

“Where’s Weasley, have you seen him?”

Neville looked up, panting. “Not since yesterday. Did you lose him, too?”

“I didn’t _lose_ anything, Neville,” Lily said, pulling at her hair. She suddenly wished she hadn’t forgone the tie. “Everything’s gone, even Weasley.”

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere, Lily,” Neville said, walking into the room. “But where did you put everything else, we need to go.”

“I didn’t put them anywhere, I just told you that,” Lily said, throwing open the closet to reveal more empty space. “Everything was packed away when I got up, but when I went to throw the Potions book in, it was all gone!”

“Potions book?” Neville asked, checking the desk drawers.

“Yes, the Potions book,” Lily said, checking under the bed again. “The one on the bed.”

“There’s no book on the bed,” Neville said. “You must have put it in the trunk.

Lily hit her head on the bedframe as she came up, swearing. She rubbed the back of her head, then threw the trunk open. It was still empty.

“Neville,” Lily said. “I’m going to freak out.”

“You’re already freaking out,” Neville said. “Are you sure you brought it in here?”

“Yes, Neville,” she said, “I’m sure I did, I came straight up here.”

“Gran,” Neville yelled, walking over to the balcony.

“What?” the old woman called from downstairs.

“Did Lily leave her book downstairs?”

“No, she took it up with her. Did she lose that, too?”

“I didn’t lose anything!” Lily yelled. “Why won’t either of you believe me?”

“Well, where could they have gone, Lily?” Neville asked.

Lily ran over to the balcony, leaning over it precariously. “Gran, is Weasley downstairs?”

“Good lord, Lily, please tell me you didn’t lose the cat.”

Lily came back over, collapsing against the wall, head in her hands. She sniffed, trying not to completely lose it.

“You’ve been having a bad week, Lily,” Neville said, sitting down next to her. “I’ll help you look, we’ll find where you put them.”

“Neville,” Lily said, sniffing again. “I don’t _go_ anywhere else in the house, where would I have left them?”

Neville thought for a moment. “The garden?”

“I haven’t been over there since I broke my wand,” Lily said, running her hands through her hair again. It sometimes helped to calm her down, but it wasn’t working this time.

Neville stayed silent.

“Neville, please believe me,” she said, sniffing again.

Neville nodded his head. “I believe you.” He stood. “I’ll talk to Gran, see if I can get her to help.”

“Thanks, Neville,’ Lily said as he went down the stairs.

Lily could hear a brief shouting match in the kitchen, although she couldn’t make out the words. She was too focused on her own misery. Three minutes later, and Gran was climbing to the third-floor landing.

“Well, go on downstairs, then,” she said.

“Gran?” Lily said, sniffing.

Gran crouched down (something she very rarely did), and placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder. “If you say you didn’t lose them, then fine, I’ll believe you. We still need to leave so we can hit Gringotts before the Weasleys arrive, especially if now have even _more_ to buy.”

Lily sniffed, nodding. “Thanks, Gran.”

“Just don’t let me find out if you _were_ lying just to leave early.”

“I never do that,” Lily said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“That’s how Neville sold me,” Gran said, hobbling after Lily. “He said you might make a lot of trouble, but you’re not a good enough liar to pull this off.”

“I don’t know what happened to everything, Gran, honest.” Lily didn’t know if she should feel offended, so she stuck with miserable.

“I believe you, Lily, you can drop it now.”

“What about Weasley?” Lily asked as they reached the second floor.

“We’ll find the cat, don’t you worry. Most likely, he’s wandering around outside.”

“I didn’t even see him this morning,” Lily grumbled. “My door was already open, so I thought he was already out.”

“He has to be around here somewhere,” Gran said. “I promise you I will find him before I head to the Burrow.”

Lily didn’t like the idea of leaving the cat behind, alone in this large house. At the very least, Trevor was no longer here to hunt her little buddy.

Lily reached the ground floor, then let Gran pass so she could lead the way. She walked into the sitting room, and Lily followed, confused. Neville was standing next to the fireplace.

“I thought we were leaving?” Lily asked, standing in the doorway.

“We are,” Gran said, stopping next to Neville. “Get over here so we can use the Floo.”

“The what?” Lily asked, walking forward.

“Neville, show her,” Gran said, nudging her grandson.

“Why am I going first?” Neville asked, grabbing a bag from atop the mantle.

“So I can make sure Lily gets going correctly,” Gran said, taking the bag from Neville. “And don’t argue, I don’t need you taking after Lily.”

Lily sniffed, pretending not to hear. Gran opened the bag, and Neville reached in, dragging out what seemed like a pinch of dirt. Neville tossed it into the fire, which promptly turned green. Lily got flashbacks from the forbidden corridor. Neville stepped in (Lily gasping in surprise), and then turned around, completely unharmed.

“Diagon Alley,” he said. There was a great _woosh_ as the flames sprouted upward, following by Neville rapidly ascending up the chimney. He was gone in a flash, and the fire died back down into its original orange state.

“That’s Floo,” Gran said, nodding. “You go on then, I’ll be right behind you.” Gran held out the bag for Lily.

“What do I do?” Lily asked, hesitating as she plunged her hand into the dirt.

“Weren’t you watching?” Gran asked. “Just step in and say where you want to go. It’s quite easy, nothing to be nervous about.”

Lily took a pinch, biting her lip, and then tossed it into the fire. It turned green, just as it had for Neville. She stepped in, nervous, and then turned around to face Gran. She breathed in on instinct, and then began coughing as smoke filled her lungs.

“Lily, wait-“ Gran called out, reaching out a hand.

“D-D-Diagon Al-Alley,” Lily coughed out, not realizing what was happening.

There was a great _woosh_ again, and Lily flew upwards, rapidly spinning. She coughed again, trying to change her positioning, trying to stop the constant spinning that was only making her feel sicker.

She was thrown out of a fireplace, landing hard on her back. She groaned, coughing in place, unable to get up.

She opened her eyes in a dimly lit room, filled with strange objects. There were all sorts of old looking furniture, reminding Lily of a pawn shop. There was, also, a rather large number of frightening objects. There was a human skull sitting on a tablecloth, a clawed hand holding a candle, a necklace that seemed to glow blue with a ghostly shine, and a large skull over the fireplace of a creature Lily couldn’t even begin to name, let alone describe.

Lily stood up, still coughing, trying to dust herself off. Her nice clothes were covered in soot, and now she’d have to deal with that all day. Assuming she could figure out where she was, that is. Lily thought she was in a storefront (there was a rather large window with several spooky items being prominently displayed), but she didn’t recognize it as any shop she had seen in Diagon Alley.

Lily heard shuffling coming from the back exit, and quickly made her escape out the front door, slipping the invisibility cloak over herself. She was now very thankful she had decided to take it out of the trunk earlier. She would have been even more miserable if it had also gone missing.

Lily come out into a dark street, filled with dark people. Most of them kept their hoods up, trying to go about their business without being noticed. Lily though for _sure_ she recognized a hag as she walked around. They had seen plenty of drawings of those dark creatures in their Defense textbook last year.

Lily passed a shopped with a sign that read “Flesh Eating Slug Repellant! Buy one, get one! Live demonstrations inside!” She was awfully curious as to what a flesh-eating slug was, but supposing it was absolutely dreadful, she kept on moving.

Lily passed by a row of potted plants, stopping as she considered her options. She didn’t have any money on her yet, but she could still pop in for some ideas. She wouldn’t be noticed with the cloak on, and as long as she found Diagon Alley, she should be able to find her way back here.

Lily quickly left the area after opening the first door; a pungent smell of rotting meat had filled the air, and she didn’t _want_ to know what would make that.

Ten minutes later, Lily had to admit she was thoroughly lost. She had somehow ended up right in front of her starting point, which was apparently called Borgins and Burkes. She briefly peered inside, but she saw the shabby shopkeeper talking with a tall, well-dressed, blonde man, and she didn’t want to intrude. Especially since the shop was prominently displaying a necklace in the window that labelled it as “cursed” and having killed “at least a dozen muggles.”

Another ten minutes passed, and Lily was ready to curl up into a ball and cry. She had, once again, somehow managed to end up in front of Borgins and Burkes, even though she had tried her best to pick completely different directions as she wandered. She hadn’t even seen the same shops before she reached square one.

She fiddled with her earring, tugging at her earlobe, while she walked down the street, desperately trying not to cry. A strange man was hobbling towards her, using a walking stick to keep his balance. One of his legs seemed to make a _clunk_ with every step, as if it was made out of metal. The worst part was his _eye_ that seemed to spin in place, even rolling into the back of his head. It seemed to lock onto her as she tried to pass, which only freaked her out more.

Lily let out a sigh of relief as she walked past, happy that he’d be gone. Then a hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she was suddenly pulled into an alleyway. She tried to scream, but the man had gotten a hand over her mouth as well.

“Potter,” the man growled. “What in Merlin’s name do you think you’re doing down Knockturn Alley?” He kept his hand firmly pressed over Lily’s mouth as he hobbled down, and Lily tried kicking at him. She would have tried biting, but he was wearing thick gloves.

“Mmgmam,” Lily mumbled as the man held her more firmly.

“Calm down, Potter,” the man said. “I’m the one friendly face you’re likely to meet down here. You’re lucky I needed a new Foe-Glass. This is the only place to get a halfway decent one. I’ll give the criminals something, they know how to watch their own backs.”

Lily stopped trying to fight, letting the man lead her on. She would have liked to keep on struggling, but she had run out of options. She didn’t have a wand, not even the broken pieces that Gran had kept with her, and she didn’t know if wandless magic was possible to cast deliberately.

The man stopped at the other end of the alley, glancing down both ways to make sure nobody was there. Lily briefly renewed her struggles, attempting to run away while the man was distracted.

“What did I say, Potter? Stop struggling, I’m trying to take you back to Diagon Alley.”

Lily stopped struggling, pausing at his words.

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you can’t stay. It’s dangerous down here. Likely to get yourself killed. I’m going to let you go, now, just follow behind me. And don’t try to run again, I’ll just stun you and carry you back.”

“Stun?” Lily asked as the man let go of her face.

“Don’t even know how to stun someone?” The man laughed, but it sounded more menacing than it did friendly.

“I’m only in second year,” Lily said, biting her lip.

“Get your wand out,” the man barked, startling Lily. “Constant vigilance, Potter, always be ready. You never know who is around the next corner.”

“I don’t have my wand,” Lily admitted sheepishly.

“Lesson number two, then: Never lose your wand.”

“I didn’t lose it, I broke it.”

“Do I need to explain lesson three, then, Potter?” The man grumbled.

“How do you know who I am?” Lily asked.

“The scar, of course,” the man said. “Only one person in the world with a scar like that. Besides, you look just like your mother.”

“You knew my mum?” Lily asked, completely lowering her guard.

“Keep your posture guarded, Potter, don’t just believe any word some stranger tells you,” the man barked as he started walking forward, leading Lily ahead. “And keep quiet when I tell you to, we don’t want anyone hearing you’re down here.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Lily said, following behind.

“Course I knew them, I was in the order with them.”

“The order?” Lily said.

“Don’t know about the order yet?” the man said, chuckling to himself. “You’ll find out eventually, I won’t spoil it.”

“Did you know my dad, too?” Lily asked.

“Course, he was there, too. Taught him all sorts of things, not that it did him any good. Couldn’t even keep up his guard, let the Dark Lord walk right in on him.”

Lily bit her lip, not appreciating what the man was saying about her father.

“Your mother used to do that, too,” the man said.

“Do what?” Lily asked.

“Bite her lip when she was scared or nervous.”

“Did- What did my father do?”

“He ground his teeth,” the man said. “Never saw him scared, to be honest. He was more likely to be angry. Full of confidence, he was.”

“I’m nothing like him, then,” Lily said, putting herself down. “I couldn’t even find my way out of here, I was going to give up before you found me.”

“You’re only twelve, Potter, not everyone can be fearless when they’re that young.” The man continued hobbling along, cane pounding the ground harshly with each step. “Besides, you’ve run your fingers through your hair a few times, now. Your father used to do that, too, although I don’t think it was from the nerves. I think he just needed something to do with his hands.”

Lily felt slightly better about that. Everybody only talked about how like her mother she was; they never mentioned any similarities with her father at all.

“What’s your name?” Lily asked, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself.

“Moody,” the man said. “Some folks like to call me Mad-Eye. I quite like it, personally. Really puts the fear into people.”

“Why do they- nevermind,” Lily said, stopping herself.

“Bout to ask why they call me Mad-Eye, Potter?” Moody said, chuckling to himself.

“No,” Lily said, blushing under her cloak.

“Your eyes move to the side when you lie, Potter,” Moody said. “And you touch your ear, too, the one with the earring.”

“They- I- I do?” Lily said, having a hard time forming sentences.

“You’ll want to break that habit,” Moody said. “Hard to fool people when you give it away so easily.”

“I don’t want to fool anyone,” Lily said, quickly stopping her hand form touching her earlobe.

“Not much further, Potter, then you can be on your way,” Moody said. “Why are you down here, anyway? Tried to sneak off, did you?”

“I didn’t _try_ to,” Lily said. “We used the Floo, and I must have messed it up, because it threw me out here instead of Diagon Alley.”

“You must have coughed,” Moody said. “Shouldn’t have breathed in. Floo threw you out nearby, at least. You got lucky.”

“I didn’t-“

“You did, Potter,” Moody said. “Just like you touched your ear again.”

Lily blushed.

“There it is,” Moody said, pointing to a brighter street up ahead. “Just walk out and pull off the cloak once you’re around regular civilians. You’ll blend right in.”

“You’re not coming?” Lily asked, biting her lip.

“Course not,” Moody said. “I said I have shopping to do, didn’t I? You’re a big girl, you can find your way from here.”

“How can I thank-“

“By keeping your guard up, Potter. You’re famous. You’re a hero to some folks. Don’t go getting yourself killed by being an idiot.”

Lily blushed again. “I wasn’t-“

“No, this one was just a dumb mistake. But I’ve heard from Dumbledore about your little adventure last year, and that was pure idiocy. Could have guessed that based on you getting your wand broken, though.”

“You know Dumbledore?” Lily asked, ignoring the further insult.

“Good friend, Dumbledore,” Moody said. “Almost pulled me out of retirement, he did, but then somebody finally applied to the Defense position, so I managed to weasel my way out of it.”

“That’s a shame,” Lily said. “I think you would have been great.”

“Fat chance of that, Potter, I’m not good with kids,” Moody said, hobbling back down the street they had just come from. “Remember: Constant vigilance!”

“I don’t even know what that means,” Lily mumbled as she walked towards Diagon Alley.

It felt good to be in a more brightly lit area., surrounded by families and smiling people rather than the monsters and ruffians from before. Lily pulled off the cloak when she was sure nobody was looking towards her, then stuffed it into her robe.

Lily looked around, trying to find a landmark. She could see Gringotts down the street, so she chose that direction, hoping Gran would use that as a meeting point. That was, of course, assuming that Gran wasn’t out looking for her at this very moment.

Lily stopped in front of a Quidditch supply store, eye being drawn to the new Nimbus broom. She owned a 2000 model (although it had likely disappeared as well; she hadn’t checked the broom shed before they left), but this was the new bright and shiny 2001 model. Her old broom had dropped down to 50 galleons, while the new model rang up for 150.

Lily suddenly realized she didn’t know what a galleon even was; McGonagall had paid for everything last year. She bit her lip, wondering if she’d have enough money to upgrade. Maybe they’d give her a discount if she traded the old one in. Of course, she didn’t have it _with_ her, but maybe-

“There you are,” a familiar voice said from behind, followed immediately by somebody yanking on Lily’s ear.

“Get off, Gran,” Lily said, pulling the old woman off the attack.

“Where’d you end up, then?” Gran asked, crossing her arms. “You had us worried sick, with that stupid mistake of yours.”

Neville stood sheepishly to the side, not saying a word, although he did look very relieved to see Lily alive and well, if a bit dirty.  
“It wasn’t a mistake,” Lily said, crossing her own arms. “I didn’t even know how to use the Floo, you just told me to figure it out!”

“I didn’t tell you to figure it out,” Gran argued, “I had Neville demonstrate for you! You just had to follow what he did.”

“You could have warned me to not breath in,” Lily said.

“I thought it’d be common sense not to breath in the smoke when you’re walking into a lit fire,” Gran said.

“The fire didn’t burn, why would I expect the smoke to?” Lily argued.

“Can we do this another time?” Neville mumbled. “People are staring.”

Lily and Gran both took a look around, noting that people were, in fact, staring at the two. Lily blushed. She hadn’t been aware of how loudly they were talking. Gran didn’t seem to care at all, but she at least didn’t get the argument going again.

“Let’s get a move on, then,” Gran said, striding off without waiting. “We’ll go to Gringotts, then to Madame Malkin’s. Lily wasted most of our head start, but maybe we can still finish a few things. The robes will probably take all day, with how much Lily’s grown.”

“I’ve grown, too,” Neville said, following after his grandmother. Lily dragged her feet behind. Mad-Eye Moody had been more friendly, she decided, and was far more likable.


	3. Gringotts

“You didn’t lose the key, did you, Lily?” Gran asked as they walked up the marble staircase to Gringotts. There were other families and individuals heading down the steps, having already finished their business, but the Longbottom’s seemed to be the only ones heading up.

Lily sniffed. “No, I didn’t _lose_ it. I’ve got it with me.”

“Fancy that,” Gran said.

Lily sniffed again, then double checked her pocket just to make sure it hadn’t mysteriously disappeared as well. It was still snugly tucked into her pocket, right where it belonged.

Lily took a look at the towering building that stood before them. It was easily the centerpiece of the entire street, managing to draw the eye from no matter where you were, as long as it was in view.

“Are there any other banks?” Lily asked as they neared the top of the stairs.

“Of course,” Gran said, “But Gringotts is the biggest. Offers the best protections, you see. Impossible to break into or out of.”

“But Professor Quirrell broke in last year,” Lily said.

Gran sniffed. “Into an empty vault.”

“Why does that matter? He still broke in.”

“I wouldn’t mention that to the goblins,” Gran said, stopping before the doors.

“Goblins?” Lily asked, leaning to peer inside the bank. She had never seen a goblin, although they had spent eons reading about them in History of Magic. She wondered if they were as hideous as Professor Binns had made them out to be, or if the histories had just exaggerated them as grotesque freaks.

“Don’t stare at them,” Gran said, wagging a finger. “They don’t like that. Find it to be quite rude.”

“Is that the Weasleys?” Lily asked, squinting her eyes to see through the tinted windows at the entryway.

Gran looked slightly offended, but turned just in time to see the Weasley family emerging from the bank entrance. Mrs. Weasley led the pack, short and plump and smiling brightly when she saw Lily. Fred and George, the stocky twins, also beamed when they saw the girl, although their smiles were a lot more unsettling. A small girl who Lily didn’t recognize, but knew must be Ginny, blushed, and quickly tried hiding behind her mother.

Ron, Neville’s best friend, jogged forward in his excitement, and then embraced Neville warmly (which was really more of a firm handshake, but it was the most affection Ron ever showed). Lily noticed Percy was nowhere to be seen, and thought that quite strange. The oldest of the children (that she had met) wasn’t one to sneak off, especially when Fred and George were at large.

“What are you all doing here so early?” Gran said, scratching her head right underneath the giant stuffed vulture she was wearing as a hat. Lily always tried very hard not to stare whenever she was wearing it.

“I thought it best we get a head start,” Mrs. Weasley said, throwing Lily into a tight hug. Lily returned it, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She liked hugs, but not when she barely knew the person. “We have five to get through, after all. The robes alone will take ages.”

“I had a similar notion,” Gran said, pulling the redheaded matriarch off of Lily (for which she was very grateful). “We had a situation crop up this morning.”

“A situation?” Mrs. Weasley asked, brow furrowing. Her eyes briefly fluttered towards the twins, who were looking up at the sky, pretending not to notice. “What sort of situation?”

“Please, don’t,” Lily said, staring down at her feet while her face flushed.

“Lily lost all her things, cat included,” Gran said, “We needed to get replacements.”

Mrs. Weasley let her mouth drop open, and Lily could see the twins sniggering in the background. Ron just looked baffled.

“Did you lose your wand, too?” he asked, causing Lily to blush even more.

“No,” Gran said, “That, she broke.”

Lily groaned, burying her face in her hands so she wouldn’t have to see any of the boys laughing at her shame. She could still hear Fred and George, unfortunately, but Ron gave her a pat on the shoulder in an attempt to reassure her.

“Fred, George, stop that,” Mrs. Weasley said, shooting the two a firm glare before turning back to Lily, all smiles.

“How’d you manage that?” Ron asked, his tone matching the reactions of Fred and George, which was quite different from the reassuring aura he was _trying_ to present.

“I fell down the stairs,” Lily mumbled, trying to ignore the ever-increasing reactions from the Weasley boys. At least Percy wasn’t here to give her a lecture; that was the last thing she needed.

“We’ll need to get a move on if we’re going to get everything done today,” Gran said. Lily mumbled a silent thank you, knowing full-well that Gran wasn’t trying to move on for her sake. She was hoping the Weasleys would forget about it if she were to disappear for a bit.

“Oh, of course,” Mrs. Weasley said. “We’re heading off to get some robes right now, what say we meet up at in a bit for lunch?”

“You can take Neville with you,” Gran said, “Lily needs to get her own money, but Neville has no reason to come. I think he’d enjoy staying with you lot more, anyway.”

“Well,” Mrs. Weasley said, leaning forward to Gran so the children couldn’t hear. Lily just happened to be within perfect eavesdropping distance. Ginny was too, of course, but she looked away when Lily tried waving.

“We’re not heading to Madame Malkin’s,” Mrs. Weasley whispered as if she was ashamed. “With the Lockhart books, we’ll have to pick everything up secondhand.”

Gran leaned closer as well, side-eyeing Lily, who was pretending not to notice. “I can save you a bit of trouble with the young one, at least. She can have Lily’s old robes once we find everything. That’ll cover her for the first year.”

“That’d be a great help,” Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. “Are you sure Lily won’t need them, though?”

Gran snorted, just a tad bit too loud. “No, she needs new robes anyway, with how quickly she’s been growing lately. Girl’s gained at least a foot since she moved in last year.”

“I did notice she’d grown a bit since term ended,” Mrs. Weasley said, coming back to normal voice.

“Neville,” Gran barked, causing the boy to jump. “Go with the Weasleys, we’ll catch up.”

“Yes, Gran,” Neville said, looking relieved. Lily would have loved to go with them as well, but her presence was, unfortunately, required within the bank.

“Come on, girl,” Gran said, marching forward and grabbing Lily by the arm. “Let’s get a move on.”

“We’ll see you in a bit, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, grabbing Lily by the other arm. “Happy birthday.”

“Happy birthday,” Ginny said from the said, blushing and trying to avoid meeting Lily’s eyes. Lily didn’t know why she was so nervous; they wrote each other a few times over the previous school year, and Ginny had seemed quite confident then.

Mrs. Weasley threw Lily into another hug before they split up. Lily waved goodbye, feeling dazed and warm inside.

“Are you coming, Lily?” Gran asked, holding the door open.

“Yes, Gran,” Lily said, hurrying to catch up before the old woman left her behind once more.

Gringotts hurt to look at, Lily decided quickly. Everything was white marble or trimmed gold inside, and with the light reflecting all around, it made everything way too bright.

The goblins also turned out to be a disappointment. The histories had made them out to be bloodthirsty and menacing, but they looked fairly normal, if a bit grumpy and much smaller than the average wizard or witch. They did have rather large fingers, and rather large nails to go with them, but they were a far cry from the descriptions of rending talons from her books. It was quite strange, actually. Even their noses weren’t anywhere near as big as had been described, although they were certainly larger than average.

There were rows open rows of goblins, all sitting at a different desk and looking very busy. Some were inspecting piles of gems and gold, others were dealing with wizards and witches. Some were clearly just trying to _look_ busy so they wouldn’t be bothered.

It didn’t fool Gran, unfortunately for them, as she strode straight up to the first available goblin. Lily had never managed to make it work, either, judging by all the times Gran had made her do work around the house.

“How can I help you?” The goblin clerk asked, not bothering to look up from his paperwork. His head was rather bald, and what hair remained was a stark white. Lily thought he must have been working here for a rather long time, and despite that, was still just a desk clerk.

“We have two vaults to visit,” Gran said, “One for Augusta Longbottom and the other for Hazel Potter.” Come to think of it, what else did goblins do for work? All Lily had learned about them had come from Professor Binns, and he had mostly just focused on a singular war against wizards (and they were supposed to cover quite a few more later). Nobody had ever mentioned what other magical creatures would do for work.

“Keys and wands, please,” the goblin said, holding out his hand. Lily was still lost in thought, trying figure out complexities far beyond her current understanding.

“Key, Lily,” Gran said, nudging Lily as the older woman pulled out her own key. Lily quickly handed hers over (trying to not look embarrassed about not paying attention), and Gran transferred them both over to the goblin. Gran then placed her wand on the desk, and the goblin gave it a quick look-over, then stopped his gaze at Lily.

“I broke my wand,” Lily said, trying, once again, to not show how embarrassed she was.

“Do you have the pieces for identification?” the goblin asked in a snide tone.

“No,” Lily said, failing in trying to not show how embarrassed she was.

“I have them here,” Gran said, reaching back into her robes and pulling out the two splintered halves of Lily’s old wand. Lily blushed again as Gran handed them over. The goblin seemed oddly pleased about her predicament, even though Lily had never done a thing to insult the man.

The goblin inspected everything, then returned them. Gran pocketed all but Lily’s key, which was given back to the proper owner. Lily tucked it back in her robe, sitting opposite the invisibility cloak.

“Follow me, please,” the goblin said, hopping down from his stool. He grabbed a tool from a fellow goblin as he hobbled away, although Lily couldn’t begin to guess what it was. It clanked in the man’s hand as he walked. Lily turned to follow, but then stopped, curiosity stolen by something else.

Her eyes were caught by a nearby blonde man, standing over at another goblin’s desk. Or, more accurate, they were drawn by the creature standing next to him. It had large, bat-like ears, and was clearly doing its very best to not look in Lily’s direction with its large, familiar eyes. Lily felt a faint buzzing in the back of her brain, as if she was on the verge of a great discovery.

“Lily, get a move on,” Gran roared from ahead.” Lily jumped, then quickly hurried to obey, strange creature completely forgotten.

They followed the goblin down a side door, and into dark hallway. This one was made of stone, Lily noticed, and was much easier to look at. There were torches embedded in the walls, creating a flickering effect along the passage. Lily wondered how the kept them burning constantly.

They came to a platform shortly after, and the goblin hopped into a minecart that was resting on a set of tracks. Lily peered down the hallway, seeing a tunnel that stretched beyond her vision. It made her feel rather dizzy, as she contemplated how this system could even exist. Did it intersect with the Muggle Underground at all? How did they build it without the Muggles ever noticing? Why would-

“Lily, for Merlin’s sake, will you get in?” Gran barked, already sitting in the cart. Lily hurried after, taking a seat next to the elderly woman. She tapped her fingers on the outside of the cart, trying to keep herself calm.

“Hands inside the cart at all times,” the goblin said in a bored tone. “We’ll be heading to the girl’s vault first.”

Lily quickly tucked her arms back into the cart, while Gran chuckled to herself. The goblin pulled a lever, and the cart set off, accelerating to max speed very quickly.

Lily felt she might get sick, the way they were zooming and turning through these tunnels. She tried to keep her eyes open, and everything seemed to rush by. Closing her eyes didn’t help at all, as then it just felt like she was constantly falling.

She saw a series of doors and safes, briefly viewed a waterfall, and once she thought she even heard a roar, which made her nearly jump out of the cart.

“Are there dragons down here?” Lily asked, trying to stay steady in her seat. Her hands were constantly moving, trying to find something to fiddle with that wouldn’t earn a scolding from Gran.

“That’s what the clankers are for,” the goblin said, shaking the instrument he was carrying. “We’ll need them for the Longbottom vault.”

“There _are_ dragons down here?” Lily asked, astounded.

The goblin smiled, which really threw Lily for a turn. She didn’t know they had pointed teeth.

“Gringotts offers the highest levels of security imaginable.”

The cart slowed just as quickly as it had accelerated, almost throwing Lily from her seat again as they came to a stop. A quick grab from Gran saved her, and Lily exited the cart with shaky legs, thankful for the solid ground.

“Key, please,” the goblin said, extending his hand as he hopped down from the vehicle.

Lily dug it out with equally shaky hands, and then gave it over. She leaned against the cart, trying not to collapse onto the ground. She heard Gran groan from the cart behind her, apparently displeased with Lily’s behavior.

The goblin strode over to the vault door, then stuck the key in. He gave it a turn, then swiped his finger along the lock. The great safe clicked loudly, followed by even more clicking as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of mechanisms activated and turned inside the door. Finally, the gate swung open, letting out a golden light into the hallway.

Lily gasped. There were mountains upon mountains of gold, silver, and bronze, as well as an assortment of gems and jewelry. The torchlight reflecting off the treasure hoard made it all shimmer enticingly. There was also a rather large Gryffindor tapestry, and Lily quickly imagined hanging it in her own room.

“This is all mine?” Lily asked, mouth open.

“There is more,” the goblin said. “The Potters left you with a lot tied up in investments and property. You won’t get access to those resources until you come of age.”

“They used to have a higher security vault,” Gran said, “But I’m told James expended a lot of his wealth during the last war.”

“Indeed,” the goblin said, handing Lily a bag to fill. “A single day didn’t go buy where he wasn’t funding some sort of counter to the Dark Lord’s attacks.”

Lily started shoving coins into the bag, not knowing how much she’d need or what was what. “Why did he spend so much?” she asked.

“He was a big part of the resistance,” Gran said. “Just like Frank and Alice.”

“Neville’s parents?” Lily said, shaking her full bag in wonder. She was still considering grabbing the tapestry, but she didn’t want to carry it around all day.

“Yes,” Gran said. “You should visit them with us come Christmas.”

Lily hopped into the cart while the goblin closed her vault. He placed Lily’s key firmly into her hand as he, too, returned to their vehicle. He pulled the lever again, and they were off once more.

“I thought they weren’t around anymore,” Lily said, holding tightly onto her money so it wouldn’t fly from her hands.

“Is that what Neville told you?” Gran said, showing sudden anger in her voice.

“No,” Lily said quickly. “I just assumed, since they weren’t around.”

“They’re in St. Mungo’s,” Gran said, cooling down. “We visit them every Christmas.”

“Why are they there?” Lily asked. She had already heard of the wizard hospital; she had almost been sent there last year.

“Tortured after the war,” Gran said, voice devoid of warmth. Lily hoped it wasn’t directed at her. She had just been talking to distract herself, for the most part.

“After?” Lily asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Aye,” Gran said, “It was after your parents died. Voldemort was gone, and his followers wanted revenge, so they took it out on Frank and Alice.”

Lily flinched at the name, feeling ashamed at the reaction. “Why did they go after them?”

“Well, they couldn’t go after the Potters, since they died, and they couldn’t go after you, since nobody knew where you were. Frank was an auror, and one of the best. He was their best option.” Gran wiped a tear away from her eye. Lily had never seen her get emotional before.

“I’m sorry, Gran,” Lily said, biting her lip. “I shouldn’t have asked, it was too personal.”

“Nonsense,” Gran said, waving a hand. “I’m not ashamed of them. I’m proud. They’re heroes.”

Lily spent the rest of the ride in silence, letting Gran focus on her thoughts. She had nothing else to say, although she did wonder why Neville hadn’t said anything. She wouldn’t bother him about it; if he wanted to talk about it, he would.

The cart came to a stop, and the goblin quickly hopped out. Gran went out with him, while Lily waited in the cart. Lily heard shuffling coming from a nearby cave, as if something very large was heading towards them. She shrank into her seat, trying to seem very small. It had been much easier when she actually _was_ small, although Gran had never been fooled.

The goblin began shaking his clankers, and a loud sound filled the caverns, like hammers beating on an army of anvils. The very air seemed to vibrate around them, and it made Lily’s teeth hurt.

The creature let out a high-pitched cry, and then began shuffling away. Lily could hear chains, and she briefly felt bad for the beast. She’d spent too much of her own time locked away to not feel sympathetic, but there was nothing she’d be able to do about it. She was also thankful it hadn’t come into view; she had already been bitten by a dragon once, and she wasn’t looking forward to being bitten by a significantly larger one.

The goblin quickly opened Gran’s vault, and when it swung open, Lily gasped again. She had thought her own vault impressive, but it paled in comparison to the Longbottom vault. Lily’s mountains of gold seemed like hills when shown next to these behemoths. Lily didn’t get a very long look, though, because Gran filled up a bag very quickly, and then the door swung shut again.

“I hate to spend too much time down here,” Gran explained as she climbed back in. “Best to be off.”

Lily bit her lip as the cart rolled away into the dark again. “Gran?”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t we help the Weasleys?” She thought of her large their cash reserves had been, and how Mrs. Weasley had admitted to not being able to afford a lot of what they needed.

“So, you did hear that, then?”

“Yes,” Lily admitted, face flushing.

“The Weasleys would never ask for help, Lily,” Gran said. “I offered as much as I thought they’d take without argument.”

“We should do more, though,” Lily said. “They could have my vault, I don’t need it.”

“Nonsense,” Gran said, waving her hand again. “That money is there for your education, don’t you go giving it away.”

“But-“ Lily began, about to make the argument that she didn’t need anywhere near half of it, despite not knowing how much it all was worth.

“I have a plan to do a bit more, child, don’t you worry. But it isn’t as simple as just giving them half our money, they’d never accept that, and it’d be a good way to ruin your friendship.” Gran smiled at her. “We’ll have to be a bit more subtle about it.”

Soon enough, Lily and Gran were leaving Gringotts, money in hand, and with the beginnings of a plan.

“There’s only one problem, Gran,” Lily said as they left the building.

“Oh, yeah? And what’s that, then?”

“I don’t know what a Galleon is,” Lily said firmly. “I also don’t know how many sickles go into one, or how many knuts into those.”

“Good lord, Lily,” Gran said, letting out a deep sigh. “I swear by Merlin’s beard, you’re going to be the end of me.”

“That’s not fair,” Lily argued, “I’ve never used wizard money before, McGonagall paid for me last year and before that I only ever had Muggle money.”

“There’s 17 sickles to a Galleon, and 39 knuts to a sickle,” Gran said, sighing again. “Galleons are the gold coins, sickles the silver, and knuts the little bronze ones.”

“Why such weird numbers?” Lily asked, tucking her coin purse into her robes. She was feeling rather like Hagrid now, who always kept his moleskin coat stuffed full of objects.

“How should I know, I didn’t make the things.”

“That’s 493 knuts to a Galleon,” Lily said, doing the math in her brain.

Gran narrowed her eyes. “How did you figure that so quickly.

“Maths was my best subject,” Lily said proudly.

“Was it, then?”

“Well, no,” Lily said, “English was, but Maths was a close second.”

“I’d certainly hope English was your best, considering you speak it,” Gran said, snorting.

“That’s not- English is a subject, you write and read and learn grammar,” Lily explained.

“If you say so,” Gran said. “Wizards don’t need basic lessons on how to read and write.”

“How do you learn it, then?” Lily asked.

“It’s up to the parents to teach their kids,” Gran said, “That way they’re ready when school starts. Frank and Neville both had a private tutor until they got their letters.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Lily said.

“And how is that?”

“Well, what if you can’t afford one? How are others supposed to teach their kids when they’re busy working?”

“They’ll find the time,” Gran said, waving her hand at Lily’s question. “The Weasleys know how to write, don’t they? I assume Molly stayed at home to teach the kids.”

Lily sniffed.

“What now, Lily?” Gran asked, sighing again.

“Nothing,” Lily said, not wanting to start another argument. She didn’t think it was fair that somebody should be forced to give up on their dreams just so their kids wouldn’t be uneducated.

“We’ll head to Madame Malkin’s to get your robes done, then,” Gran said, pointing towards the slate gray storefront of the tailor. “Then we’ll head off and find the others.”

“What about Neville? Doesn’t he need new robes?”

Gran scoffed. “Boy didn’t grow so much as a centimeter last year, his old robes’ll keep.”

The robes took longer to acquire than Lily would have liked. Madame Malkin recognized her from last year, and briefly referred to her as McGonagall’s granddaughter, and had questioned why Gran was there.

Gran had laughed, and said, “Minerva has several grandchildren, but this one isn’t one of them.” Madame Malkin didn’t seem very happy about being corrected, and Lily remembered that last year she hadn’t known McGonagall had any grandchildren at all.

Madame Malkin had assisted Lily herself this time around, and had pricked Lily a few times with her needles. Each time she’d apologize, and then it would happen again a little while later. Either she wasn’t a very good tailor, or she was taking her frustrations out on Lily. Either way, she didn’t appreciate it, and she decided she’d go to a different shop next year, even if she had to pay for the robes herself.

Lily and Gran left the tailor well past eleven, time flying by without issue. Lily had to carry the bags containing all her new school robes, and she was panting shortly after they set off down the street, looking for the Weasleys and Neville.

“We should stop and grab your Potions ingredients as well,” Gran said, halting in front of the apothecary.

“I don’t think I can carry anymore,” Lily said, trying to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Her scar also desperately needed scratching, but she definitely didn’t have the freedom of movement to accomplish it.

“Nonsense,” Gran said, waving her hand. “You’re a strong girl, you’ll manage.”

Another fifteen minutes later, and Lily was even further laden down. Gran almost stopped in Flourish and Blotts for her textbooks, but Lily threw a fit over the idea, and soon they were looking around for the others again, Gran grumbling in discontent.

“Where are those fools?” Gran asked after ten minutes of looking, growing increasingly frustrated. Lily was glad for the brief respite; she had been happy for her robe earlier, but it was now getting quite hot, and she felt like she was dying. She wished she could take it off, but since it was holding her money and cloak, doing so would be futile.

“They said they needed to get new robes,” Lily said, trying to wipe her forehead with the back of her hand.

“There are two dozen shops they could be in on this section of street alone,” Gran huffed, “They should have stayed close by so we could find them.”

“Maybe they went into Knockturn Alley,” Lily suggested.  
“That’s a terrible idea,” Gran snorted. She gave Lily the side-eye. “And where’d you hear of Knockturn Alley, anyway?”

Lily blushed. “I heard about in school,” she said, trying to offer an explanation that wouldn’t get her in trouble.

“Mmhmm,” Gran hummed, not buying it. “Asked a Slytherin where to get some dark goods, did you?”

“No,” Lily said, trying to think of a better lie. “Malfoy brought it up in the forbidden forest, said the only place he’d seen werewolves before was down there.”

“Forbidden forest?” Gran asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “And what, pray tell, where you doing in there?”

“Serving a detention,” Lily said, telling the truth for once. “We all went in, me, Neville, and Hermione.”

“I’ll have to have a word with Dumbledore about this,” Gran said, tone becoming more serious. “The guardians should have at least been notified before they sent our kids off into the bloody woods.”

“We didn’t go that far in,” Lily, trying to rein the woman in. “We were just looking for what was killing the unicorns, that’s all.”

“ _Killing the unicorns?_ ” Gran said, incredulous. Half the street turned to look at them, now interested in the conversation of strangers.

“Gran, not so loud,” Lily said, trying to bring attention to the crowded market street. She now wished she had simply told the truth about Knockturn Alley; the scolding would have been preferable to what was about to happen.

“Something was _killing_ the _unicorns_ and Dumbledore thought it would be an appropriate detention to send _first years_ after it? Seventh years, sure, I could understand that, even if it is a little harsh, but you lot were only eleven! What was that man _thinking_ , sending you in there?”

“Gran, please-“

“The other governors will hear about this, for sure, there’ll be a meeting an inquiry, I’ll mace sure of that myself.”

“Gran-“

“And what did you lot even do, that’d be bad enough to get sent into the bloody forest, hmm? Never got a letter about this, not a bloody peep, not so much as a line.” Gran put her hands on her hips, indicating that Lily was in deep trouble.

“I didn’t do anything,” Lily said, trying to clear the air. “I was already serving detentions with McGonagall, Dumbledore just requested I tag along with the others that week.”

“And what were you serving detentions for, hmm? Never mentioned that either, did you? No, last I heard was your sloppy attire, but that couldn’t have been it, could it? Well?” Gran pointed a finger in Lily’s face with every word, which made Lily very uncomfortable. It reminded her a lot of Uncle Vernon before he’d throw her in the cupboard for a month.

Lily tried to make herself seem smaller again, maneuvering her bags between her and the attacker.

“It was nothing, Gran, really, I just needed help with Transfiguration, is all.” That wasn’t entirely the truth; Lily did desperately need the help, but the punishment had been for her sneaking out in the middle of the night (well past curfew) and blowing up a chair in the library.

It did seem to satisfy Gran, though, although she still seemed upset. “Yes, your marks were terrible, weren’t they? You better keep them up this year, I’ll be making sure I keep a closer eye on your behavior.”

“Gran-“ Lily said, starting to let her guard back down now that the danger had seemingly passed.

“Don’t you ‘Gran’ me,” Gran said, pointing a finger back at Lily. “You move one toe out of line, and I’ll be bringing you straight home, you understand that?”

“Yes, Gran,” Lily said meekly, trying her best to seem completely nonthreatening.

“And don’t think I’m joking, either, there are plenty of other schools that’ll take you, ones that will make sure you’re better behaved, as well.”

“Gran, please-“

“Now where is Neville,” Gran said, storming off down the road again in pursuit of her grandson. “I need to have a word him, too.”

Lily mumbled a silent apology for Neville, knowing this was all her fault.


	4. School Shopping

“I feel a bit bad for him,” George said as he and Lily stood to the side, watching Gran scold Neville.

“She can go even longer than mum,” Fred said, scratching his neck.

Mrs. Weasley was finding a place for lunch with Ginny (who seemed to be avoiding Lily), and was supposed to be back soon. Percy had appeared very briefly, only to say that he didn’t need any lunch, and he would meet up with everyone else at the bookstore later. Lily still found it very fishy, and would have followed under her cloak if the other Weasley boys hadn’t been vying for her attention. It was hard to sneak away when everybody was paying attention to you.

“This is worse than the howler he got last year,” Ron said, scratching his nose. Lily shuddered, thinking of the scolding Neville received last year after he failed to write home for several months.

“Just wait until she finds out about the dragon,” Lily said, sitting on one of her bags while she waited. They made quite a comfortable seat, although she had to be careful to avoid any bags containing potions ingredients.

“How would she do that?” Ron asked.

“Neville always cracks under pressure,” Lily said, “and Gran’s determined to find out what he did.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t give it away,” Ron grunted.

“Mine didn’t last long enough,” Lily said.

“So you would have ratted him out, then?” George asked.

“How could you, Lily?” Fred asked, tutting.

Lily blushed. “Well, I wouldn’t have meant to! I would have just let it slip out, you know?”

“Remind us not to tell you a thing,” Fred and George said as one.

Lily sniffed. “You can trust me.”

“I certainly hope so,” Fred said.

“Otherwise our gift will be wasted,” George said.

“You two didn’t have to get me anything,” Lily said.

“We didn’t.” the twins said together.

“Now I’m confused,” Ron said.

“That’s nothing new,” Fred said. Ron punched his brother on the arm, which earned him a couple blows of his own.

“We already had the gift,” George explained, scooting closer to circumvent his tussling brothers.

“And you’ll get it later on tonight,” Fred said, throwing Ron into a headlock.

“Gerroff me,” Ron said, trying to twist out of the hold.

“What is it?” Lily asked, curiosity piqued.

“Never you mind,” George said, wagging a finger at her.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Fred said, pinning Ron to the ground.

“I don’t have to do anything for it, do I?” Lily asked, feeling suspicious at the generosity. It would be just like the twins to include stipulations to her gift.

“Well, if we ask, let us borrow it back,” George said.

“We might need it later,” Fred explained, finally letting Ron off the ground.

“Why would you give it to me if you still need it?” Lily asked.

“Consider it our way of making up,” George said.

“That, and you seem to need it more than we do, with the amount of detentions you got last year,” Fred said.

“You two had more!” Ron said, brushing himself off.

“She might not have beaten our third years selves, but she did beat our first year records,” George explained.

“And if we don’t do something soon, she’ll be busting all of them,” Fred said.

“And we can’t have that,” George said.

“Just make sure you keep it secret, and don’t let McGonagall find out about it,” Fred said, trying his best to look stern. It, quite frankly, looked ridiculous.

“Then don’t you two get caught when it’s your turn,” Lily said.

“Don’t worry, Lils,” Fred said.

“We know how to keep our mouths shut,” George said, smiling.

“Don’t call me Lils,” Lily said crossing her arms. She was now heavily considering never letting the twins see the gift ever again.

“If you say so, Lilykins,” Fred said, winking.

“Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, would we, Lilypad?” George said.

“That’s even better,” Fred said, smiling more broadly.

“That’s even worse,” Lily said, frowning more deeply.

“You shouldn’t frown so much,” Fred and George said together.

“Why does everybody keep saying that?” Lily asked, throwing her hands into the air.

“Mum’s coming back,” Ron said, pointing down the street.

Lily sighed, standing up. She’d have to stop Gran herself, or the scolding would never stop. She stepped up, placing a hand on Gran’s shoulder.

Gran turned sharply. “What?” she roared.

“Mrs. Weasley is back,” Lily said, shrinking back.

Gran took a look around, throwing a smile on her face as if she hadn’t just been exceedingly angry. “Well, shall we eat, then?”

Neville hurried away, looking relieved it was over. Lily followed closely behind. Not wanting Gran to turn on her instead.

“Did you mention the forbidden corridor?” she whispered once they were alone with Ron.

“No,” Neville answered, “But I did let the dragon slip.”

Ron sniggered, and Lily gave him a punch on the arm to silence him. Gran turned just in time to see it, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Lily did her best to look innocent in response.

“The Hopping Pot is rather crowded right now,” Mrs. Weasley said, “But the Leaky Cauldron has plenty of space.”

“That sorry excuse for a pub?” Gran said, turning her attention back to the only other adult. “No, we’ll be going to Clutterbucke’s, I think. Much better food, really satisfies.”

“Well, yes,” Mrs. Weasley said, “But there’s an awful lot of us, the Leaky Cauldron won’t run as high a tab.” She flushed slightly, the truth behind her words staying silent.

“Nonsense,” Gran said, waving a hand and leading the pack forward. “My pick, my treat. I’m certainly not eating at the Leaky Cauldron, no, won’t be caught dead in there.”

Lily followed behind the crowd with Ron and Neville. They were both taking turns ribbing on the boy for his embarrassing lecture. Lily was having fun until it was turned back on her. That was nowhere near as good, since she was almost always the butt of the joke.

Clutterbucke’s was, apparently, a slightly fancier place. The host at the front seemed slightly disgruntled about the presence of so many, until Mrs. Longbottom pushed forward and slid him a galleon. Afterwards, he had been far more polite. He even cleaned Lily’s robes with a flick of his wand. She had forgotten that she was still covered in ash from her Floo misadventures.

Gran ordered for the whole table, despite Mrs. Weasleys protests, who had wanted to look at the menu. Lily briefly caught a glimpse of it over Gran’s shoulder, and she assumed Gran didn’t want the Weasley matriarch to see how much they were all being extorted for, even if Lily didn’t quite understand the currency system yet.

They were soon feasting on massive lobsters and crispy, flaky fish, as well as hordes of fresh, crisp vegetables. Fred and George had taken two whole fish (which looked nothing like any fish Lily had ever seen, with grotesque spines and six antennae), and were using them to tease Ginny, who gave a small shriek every time she was forced to touch one. Lily thought it was quite funny, if only because they weren’t doing it to her. She would likely have the same reaction, and she didn’t think the twins would ever let it go if they found out.

Overall, it was one of the most enjoyable meals Lily ever had. Even Gran laughed heartily when the twins tossed the fish straight into Ron’s bowl of soup, although Mrs. Weasley had certainly been upset. Ron hadn’t taken it well, either, since he had been doused in stew.

“What’s next?” Lily asked Gran as they left the restaurant. She was getting tired of Neville and Ron making fun of her, and was craving other companionship. Why she chose Gran, not even she knew.

“Flourish and Blotts,” Gran said. “After that, the others have to make their stop at the Apothecary, and then Molly said she has to stop for some groceries before you lot head off to the Burrow.”

“The Burrow?” Lily asked.

“It’s where they live,” Gran said, thumbing back towards the trailing Weasleys. Percy seemed to have mysteriously joined the group again, and Mrs. Weasley was currently grilling him on what he’d been up to, while Fred and George pretended not to be interested in the answer.

“Do you think Ginny is going to ignore me the whole summer?” Lily asked.

“How would I know?” Gran said. “I didn’t even realize she was ignoring you _now_. The rest of us could only be so lucky.”

Lily sniffed. “She wrote to me while we were at school, but she hasn’t said a word to me all day, not even so much as a ‘happy birthday.’ I just don’t get it.”

“None of them wished you a happy birthday,” Gran pointed out. “You didn’t get upset at the rest of them.”

“Well, Ron won’t say anything until he has to, and I don’t think the twins would either. But I’ve been told constantly that Ginny was so excited to meet me, and she hasn’t so much as left her mum’s side.”

“You must make her nervous,” Gran said.

“Why would she be nervous?”

“Probably because you’re likely to blow up at the slightest issue.”

“That’s not true,” Lily huffed. “You just push all my buttons, is all.”

“What’s that mean?” Gran asked, eyebrow raised.

“What does what mean?” Lily asked.

“Push all my buttons, what is that?”

“It’s an expression,” Lily said. “It means you know how to annoy me.”

Gran snorted. “As if you don’t push all _mine_. Must be a Muggle thing.”

“Well, what do wizards say, then?”

“That you’re being rather annoying, and it would be very pleasant if you were to stop talking.”

“That just seems rude.”

“Well, they wouldn’t get the hint otherwise, would they?” Gran said, rolling her eyes.

Lily huffed again, crossing her arms.

“Oh, lighten up,” Gran said. “I don’t need you sulking, too.”

“Well, if you hadn’t gone off on Neville for ten minutes, he might be more friendly.”

“Oh, is that right?” Gran said, eyeing Lily. “I think somebody might have gotten off a little easy, myself. Perhaps they wouldn’t be so quick to complain if they had gotten what was due, hmm?”

Lily took the hint, and quickly slowed her pace to fall in beside Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. Mrs. Weasley insisted on holding Ginny’s hand, even though the younger girl clearly did not care for it. Lily was glad she could avoid _that_ , at least.

“So, you start Hogwarts this year, right, Ginny?” she asked, trying to initiate a conversation.

Ginny nodded, blushing, not making eye contact.

“She does, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, nodding as well. “Do keep an eye on her, will you? Fred and George can get her riled up sometimes, and she’s prone to doing something stupid when they do.”

Ginny grew a deeper red. “Mum,” she said, protesting.

“I’ll try, Mrs. Weasley,” Lily said. “But nothing can stop those two when they make up their minds.”

Mrs. Weasley let out a sigh. “Don’t I know it. I’ll have to have another talk with them before you all go off, for all the good it’ll do.”

“What House do you think you’ll get, Ginny?” Lily asked, trying to fish for another response.

“I’m sure she’ll make Gryffindor,” Mrs. Weasley said, taking over the conversation. “The rest of us all were, I don’t see why she’d be any different.”

“I thought I was gonna make Ravenclaw, myself,” Lily said. “Gryffindor has been nice, but there’s so many stairs to climb just to get back to the common room.”

“Ravenclaw wouldn’t be much better for that,” Mrs. Weasley said. “They’re on the fifth floor.”

“That’s two less, though,” Lily said. “It’d still be much easier.”

“So you don’t like being a Gryffindor, then?” Mrs. Weasley asked, huffing.

Lily tried to backpedal. “No, not at all,” she said, then realized that didn’t mean what she wanted it to mean.

Mrs. Weasley sniffed, and Lily tried to pull at her tie, before realizing that she wasn’t wearing one.

“Please, that’s not what I mean, I love being a Gryffindor, I even almost won the house cup for us!” Lily said, all very quickly and hard to follow.

“Well, maybe this year, you’ll _actually_ take it for us,” Mrs. Weasley said sweetly, patting Lily on the head. Lily wasn’t sure if it was meant to be serious or patronizing, and she didn’t get the chance to ask, as she was soon left behind as everybody else entered Flourish and Blotts without her.

She could see through the storefront window that the shelves were absolutely packed with textbooks. She assumed they were stocked with other things during the actual school year, and they only looked like this right before term began.

The store itself was packed with people of all ages, and Lily could see several nervous little children standing by their parent’s sides. She wondered if she had been that small just last year. Neville was _still_ rather small, and he seemed quite conscious of it. Whenever Gran poked fun at his height was when he got the most embarrassed. She hoped Ron and the twins wouldn’t pick up on it while they were staying with them.

Everyone was busy searching for their books when Lily finally entered, and she beelined straight for the Lockhart books, deciding to get the most expensive ones out of the way first. They were also the most packed section, with all sorts of middle-aged women fawning over each one. Lily didn’t know why they’d all be so interested in textbooks for school children.

There were far too many books, Lily noticed, and each one was adorned with a rather large, smiling picture of Gilderoy Lockhart himself. He had wavy blonde hair, and looked like he was trying far to hard to be handsome. Lily scratched her chin, wondering if she actually didn’t like Lockhart, or if it was just Gran’s opinion from the other day causing her reaction.

She glanced over her school list again, trying to figure out which ones she needed, only to discover that she needed all of the dozen. She sighed, deciding that she definitely didn’t like Lockhart, if only because _every single one_ of his books was required for the second year. That would put a big dent in her purse, especially if she went along with Gran’s plan.

“Anything I can help you with?” a nearby store clerk asked, making Lily jump. She hadn’t noticed anybody paying attention to her.

“I need two of each book,” Lily said, pointing at the Lockhart catalogue. She wouldn’t normally ask for help, but seeing as how there were so many, she would at least need it just to carry the things. She _really_ hoped Gran wouldn’t make her carry all this, too, or she’d really be hurting later.

“Two?” the clerk repeated for confirmation as she took out her wand.

“One sets a present for somebody else,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I figured I’d cover it.”

“Two it is,” the clerk finished, waving her wand at the shelves. The sets flew themselves over to the counter, waiting for Lily to come purchase them.

“I also need _Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ ,” Lily said, doublechecking her list. “ _A Novice’s Guide to Potion-Making_ , and _Secondary Charms: Not Quite a Beginner._ ”

“Right away,” the clerk said, waving her wand at a different section of the storefront. “Will that be all?” she asked for confirmation.

“I think so,” Lily said, biting her lip. The Transfiguration and Herbology books from last year would carry into the second, she knew, but she didn’t know about Astronomy or History of Magic. Seeing as how neither had a book on the list, she hoped it was the same case. If not, she could always order it by mail later. She hoped Hermione would still let her borrow Hedwig; the school owls were always much slower.

“Right this way,” the clerk said, leading the way to the register. Lily followed, taking her place on the customer’s side.

“That’ll be 75 Galleons,” the clerk side, beginning to pile the books together.

Lily’s hand wavered halfway to her moneybag, face crinkling in surprise.

“ _75?”_ she repeated in a high-pitched tone. She had grabbed well over a hundred galleons, but that’d still drain most of it. She was hoping she’d have enough left over to buy a slightly better broom, but that was now right out.

“The Lockhart books are 5 Galleons each, and you’ve grabbed two copies of them,” the clerk said, plastering on a fake smile. “I can return the extras, if you’d like?”

“No,” Lily said, wrenching the bag out of her robe, feeling rather grumpy at Gran now. “I can afford it, it was just more than I expected, that’s all.”

Lily piled the galleons down in front of her, then slid them over when she was done, albeit reluctantly. Her purse felt rather empty now, with only a few coins left jingling inside. She decided to save the rest of it for the train to Hogwarts, so she could actually buy some snacks this year.

“Do you need a cart to carry them?” The clerk asked after she counted the money herself, then piled them into the register.

Lily looked at the pile of books. It was taller than she was. She was about to answer, when the twins appeared from behind, scooping them all up, George taking one half while Fred took the other.

“Not a bother, miss,” Fred said, rearranging the books in his arms so they’d be more comfortable to carry.

“We’ve got them,” George said, doing the same for his own.

“Come along, Lilypad,” Fred said.

Lily groaned, face towards the ceiling, but followed them along. She wasn’t about to argue; she absolutely was _not_ going to carry them herself.

“Have a nice day,” the clerk called from behind, satisfied with her commission.

Fred and George dumped Lily’s books at the feet of their mother. Lily briefly worried if they’d damaged them, but then remembered she was planning on writing inside of them and no longer cared quite as much.

“What are you two up to?’ Mrs. Weasley asked, brow furrowing.

“What do you mean?” the twins asked as one, grinning.

“We were just doing Lily a favor, mum,” Fred said.

“Can’t see her carrying that all by herself, can you?” George said.

“Watch out, Lily,” Mrs. Weasley said. “They never do anything without being told to unless they want something, you remember that.”

“You hurt us, mum,” Fred said, holding a hand over his heart.

“Yeah, mum, what’s wrong with helping out wee little Lilypad?” George said.

Lily groaned again. She really hoped they got tired of that name soon; it wasn’t even very funny.

“Where’s Ron and Neville?” Lily asked, noticing that the two people her age were missing.

“Looking for something,” Mrs. Weasley said. “I was told to keep you here while we waited.”

“What for?” Lily asked, hoping that Neville and Ron weren’t trying to ignore her. She took a look around, noticing that the twins snuck off somewhere.

“Best ask them yourself,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“It’s for your birth-“ Ginny blurted out, right before Mrs. Weasley’s hand clamped over her mouth. Ginny blushed furiously while Mrs. Weasley plastered on a fake smile. Lily pretended not to hear, but felt warm inside.

“Where’s Gran, then?” she asked.

“At the counter,” Mrs. Weasley said, pointing. Lily followed her finger, spotting Gran paying for an even larger pile of books than she had.

Lily groaned, really trying to ham it up.

“I think she might have bought my books,” she said.

“What do you mean, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Lily!” Gran barked from the counter. “Get over here, girl, and give me a hand.”

Lily quickly complied, hurrying through the bustling storefront. Gran quickly piled books in her arms, stack after stack, and suddenly Lily was struggling to hold it all. Gran lead the way back to the Weasleys, while Lily hobbled around behind, not able to see where she was going. It was a miracle she didn’t run into anybody, and a bigger one that her arms didn’t fall off from the strain.

“Gran,” Lily said as she set the books down, panting. “I already got my books, you didn’t need to get this many.”

“What do you mean, girl?” Gran asked, spotting the pile of books that had already been there. “Now, why would you go and do that?”

“You said I had to buy my own, remember? Since I mark them all up, and all.” Lily wiped sweat from her forehead, briefly considering using the pile of pages as a seat.

“Why did you buy two, then?” Gran asked, scratching her head.

“I bought Neville’s Lockhart books, for his birthday. I couldn’t think of anything else.” That wasn’t entirely the truth; she actually already bought his present in the apothecary.

“Well, you should have told me first,” Gran said, crossing her arms. “What are we going to do with extra books?”

Lily took the lead. “Mrs. Weasley?”

“Hmmm?” Mrs. Weasley asked, flipping through the front pages of a Lockhart book. She quickly closed it, face, for some reason, flushing.

“Do you want the extra books? I don’t need them anymore, and I don’t want them to go to waste.”

Mrs. Weasley took a glance down at the pile of schoolbooks, considering her options. “I suppose the second-year books could go to Ron, and the Lockhart books are needed for every year, but, it’s just too-”

“It’s settled, then,” Gran interrupted, clapping her hands together. “You’ll fix Lily’s mistake for her, and everyone’s happy.”

“Well, we couldn’t possibly-“ Mrs. Weasley began, clearly trying to refuse the generosity.

“Here you go, Ginny,” Lily said, dumping a set of Lockhart books into the younger girl’s cauldron. She picked up the Potions, Charms, and the _Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ , balancing them in her sore arms.

“I’ll go give these to Ron, be right back,” she said, hurrying off before Mrs. Weasley could muster up another refusal.

Ron and Neville had, thankfully, finished up whatever purchase they had been trying to make, and Neville quickly hid the bag behind his back as Lily approached.

“Here you go, Ron,” Lily said, dumping the books into his arms.  
“What are you making me carry all this for?” Ron grumbled.

“They’re yours,” Lily said. “Gran bought too many. She forgot I was supposed to buy my own.”

“So you’re just pawning them off on me, then?” Ron asked. “Why not Neville?”

“Well, of course she was going to buy his. Why wouldn’t she?”

“I still don’t see why I have to carry them,” Ron said, shifting the weight in his arms. “I already have enough to lug around as is.”

“You and me both, Ron,” Lily said as they made it back to the rest of the family. She gestured at all the books waiting on the floor. “I have to carry all these.”

“I can take them all of to the Post,” Mrs. Weasley offered. “Ship it all off to the Burrow. It’d make the rest of the day much easier.”

“Here’s a few Galleons, then,” Gran said, handing over a few gold coins. “That should cover it all.”

“I think we can manage-“ Mrs. Weasley began, trying to hand the coins back over.

“Nonsense,” Gran said, using her favorite word. “Lily’s stuff alone is going to cost a fortune to ship off, with how much she’s purchased.”

“I haven’t bought _that_ much,” Lily said, sniffing, ignoring the dozen bags she had been lugging around all day.

“I’ll take her and Ginny off to Ollivander’s while the boys help you,” Gran said, dragging the youngest redhead off her mother’s side. “Get their wands all settled.”

“Well, let me at least give you the money for-“ Mrs. Weasley began, trying to hand over some coins of her own.

Gran waved it off. “You can pay me back later, you never know the price of an Ollivander wand until he hands it over.”

“If you’re sure, then,” Mrs. Weasley said, hand hesitating over her purse.

“Oh, I’m sure,” Gran said, herding Lily and Ginny out the door by their collars. Lily thought it interesting that the younger girl wasn’t even trying to argue, but perhaps she was just taking Lily’s lead. There was, after all, no point in trying to argue with Gran. She always got her way in the end.

“We’ll meet you over by Florean’s after you grab the rest of your books, I’ll treat us all to some ice cream.”

Gran let the door swing firmly closed behind them, hurrying off before Mrs. Weasley could find the will to argue some more.

She let the two girls go once they had gone a block, slowing her pace considerably. Lily rubbed her neck, trying to get ride of some of the soreness.

“I thought you laid on a little thick,” Gran said.

“Me?’ Lily said, shocked. “You wouldn’t let Mrs. Weasley get a word in, you were the one giving it all away.”

“Oh, please,” Gran said, waving a hand. “ _I don’t want them to go to waste_. You don’t talk like that.”

Lily blushed. “Well, it worked, didn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Gran said, chuckling. “Just ignore us, Ginny, it’s a little inside joke.”

Ginny stayed silent, face as red as her hair.

They made it to Ollivander’s quickly enough, and Gran herded the two girls inside, determined to wait outside.

“You can handle the bill, Lily,” she said. “As punishment for breaking your wand.”

“Gran, I don’t have much left,” she said in protest. If she covered the wands, she’d have almost nothing left at all.

“You have enough,” Gran said, waving it off as she closed the door behind her.

Lily huffed as she turned, noticing that Ginny was standing in the middle of the room, nervous, unsure what to do. She put a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

Lily laughed. “It’s okay, Ginny, Mr. Ollivander isn’t too bad.”

Ginny mumbled something that Lily couldn’t quite make out.

“Good afternoon,” Ollivander said as he walked around the corner, coming from between the shelves. He looked just as ancient as he had last time. In fact, he looked exactly the same, the ghost white hair frizzling out. He was even wearing the same robes as last time, the faded green that made him look even older.

He eyed the two girls, smiling. His smile was just as unsettling as last time, and despite her promises, Lily felt slightly nervous.

“Taking young Miss Weasley for her first wand, Hazel?” Ollivander said, bowing.

“Actually,” Lily said, blushing. “I need a wand, too.” She briefly wondered how Ollivander knew who Ginny was, but he always seemed to know everything, so there was really no point in asking.

Ollivander looked up, frowning. “Eleven and a half inches, hazel wood, unicorn hair, springy, yet firm. What happened to it?”

Lily tried to avoid looking into his eyes. She instinctually grabbed onto Ginny’s hand, unsure if it was for her comfort or Ginny’s.

“I, err, broke it,” she said, voice cracking. She cleared her throat, but couldn’t muster up the nerve to repeat herself. If anybody was likely to be angry over the broken wand, it was definitely the one who made it.

“I see,” Ollivander said, straightening out. He seemed displeased with Lily’s answer, which was completely understandable.

“I am not in the habit of selling replacement wands,” Ollivander said, creeping back into the shelves. “But as Hazel came easily to you the last time, I think we shall try that again. With any luck, we shall finish even faster than we did the last time.”

Lily gave Ginny’s hand a little squeeze, then let go, choosing to take a seat. Ollivander had a few comfy, red chairs sitting next to the counter that she had completely ignored the first time. She decided to not make that same mistake this time around.

Ginny took a seat, as well, as far from Lily as she could get. Lily sniffed, feeling slightly hurt. She hoped she’d stop being so shy soon, or the rest of the summer would be miserable.

“Here you are,” Ollivander said, reappearing with a dozen boxes in his arms. “The last of the hazel wands, I’m afraid. The only others are the ones that rejected you last year, and they aren’t likely to change their minds. I had more, but they’ve been sold off already. Hazel is a popular wand wood this year, it seems.”

Lily took the top box, and Ollivander scooped it up before she could even get it open.

“No, that one is right off,” he said, placing it far away from Lily.

Lily blushed. “Did it hate me that much?”

“It was downright murderous,” Ollivander said. “Picking it up could have destroyed you both.”

Lily glanced over at Ginny, who had grown paler in the face. Lily laughed, trying to play it off, to make the other girl feel better.

“It is not a joking matter,” Ollivander said sternly. “A good wandmaker must always be in tune with the feelings of his wands, lest disaster strike.”

Lily bit her lip, reaching for the second box. Ollivander quickly scooped the whole lot up, carrying them over to the lone box.

“No, no,” he said, “Hazel wood is clearly right out. You’ve offended them, I’m afraid.”

“Can’t we just fix the old one?” Lily grumbled.

“Most certainly not,” Ollivander said, wandering back into the shelves.

They waited ten minutes before Ollivander came back out, carrying dozens of boxes. Lily sat up, expecting him to place them near her, but he walked straight on past, stopping next to Ginny.

“We shall do you first,” Ollivander said, taking a seat across from Ginny. “I have a faint idea of what to give you, based on the results from your family members. Miss Potter will take a bit of experimenting.”

Lily grumbled, leaning back into her seat, crossing her arms. She was hoping to be done soon; she was ready to head home for some rest. She tried to get comfortable, hoping desperately that they’d be able to find Weasley later; she missed his warmth in her lap.

It took half an hour to find Ginny’s wand, with Lily trying each leftover one at Ollivander’s insistence, just in case they favored her instead. None of them did, of course. Not even a single shred of power was felt between Lily’s fingertips.

“Yew, twelve inches and firm, phoenix feather,” Ollivander said, quickly wrapping the wand and box in brown paper, then setting it aside. He glanced over at Lily, staring at her for a few moments.

Lily shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable. She got the vague feeling that Ollivander was considering something. She felt like his eyes were seeing straight through her fringe, locked onto her scar. She felt her hand rise, instinctually trying to hide the disfigurement. Finally, Ollivander turned, heading back into the shelves.

“Curious,” she heard him mutter. “I wonder, I wonder indeed.”

Ollivander came out of the shelves, carrying a single box with him. He opened it, then presented the wand for Lily to take. “11 inches, holly, phoenix feather. Go on, give it a wave.”

Lily took it into her hands, quickly twirling it around. She felt no strength, no warmth, coming from the wand. She placed it back down, feeling disappointed.

“Curious,” Ollivander said, placing the cover back over the box. “I had thought- but never you mind. Perhaps another phoenix feather, though, that was close.”

“What’s curious?” Lily asked as he disappeared between the shelves again.

“It matters not,” Ollivander called back. “We shall try another. Perhaps someday we shall try that one again, but it is not ready, no, not yet.”

Lily almost took offense to that; she hoped she’d never need to return here at all, but Ollivander apparently expected it.

Ollivander came back ten minutes later, carrying yet another single box. Lily didn’t know what took him so long if he was just going to pick a single wand. His eye briefly flickered to Ginny, then he handed the box over to Lily.

“One more, than we shall have to get back to experimenting. It is my last idea, for the moment.”

Lily bit her lip, then took the cover off the box. The wand inside was light colored, and Lily felt it was slightly familiar, as if she’d seen the type before.

“Vinewood, 10 ¾ inches, phoenix feather,” Ollivander said. He motioned for Lily to pick it up, and she did so.

She felt a familiar warmth flow from her fingertips, and her face involuntarily lit up, just as the wand in her fingertips did so.

“Excellent,” Ollivander said, clapping his hands together. “Most excellent. I had hoped these two would sell together, and it seems I was right.”

Lily looked up, still smiling despite her confusion. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Your wand, as well as Miss Weasley’s,” Ollivander said, nodding towards Ginny, “Have similar cores, in more ways than one. They come from two different phoenixes, to be sure, but those two phoenixes just happen to be siblings.”

Lily looked over to Ginny, noticing the other girl was managing to smile through her own nervousness.

“Isn’t that great, Ginny?” Lily said, digging her coin purse back out to pay Ollivander.

“I don’t know if it was simply a coincidence, that the two wands simply wanted to be sold at the same time, or if there is something greater going on,” Ollivander said, “But I believe the wands will work better in tandem, if the two of you are side-by-side.”

“Good thing we’re in separate years, then,” Lily said, sliding the old man coins.

“Yes, that is where the worry comes in,” Ollivander said, hand not reaching for the coins yet. “If you were the same year, I’d be able to give you a more definitive warning. As it is, you’ll simply have to watch out for each other.”

Ollivander accepted the payment, bowed, and then walked into the back room, leaving the two girls alone.

Lily turned, watching Ginny smile down at her own wand. She felt quite the same, although she’d never say it aloud. It almost felt like they were family.


	5. The Burrow

“Fred, George, stop shoving each other,” Mrs. Weasley barked as they loaded off the Knight Bus hours later, arriving at the small village of Ottery St. Catchpole. “You nearly knocked your sister out of her seat.”

“We did knock Ron out of his,” Fred said.

Ron rubbed his backside, clearly still sore. He kept shooting glares at the twins, who always shot one back in response between their grinning and jokes.

Gran didn’t join them on the bus, although she did give Mrs. Weasley the change to pay for the fare. She went to the Longbottom Estate by herself, waiting for Mr. Weasley to get off of work. They’d leave there together, hopefully after finding all of Lily’s things.

Lily took a deep breath, enjoying how fresh the air was out in the country. There was a distant scent of farmland on the wind. The village itself was quite comfy, as well, with villagers going about the end of their day; the time for work was almost over, and soon they’d all be heading home or to the pub.

Fred and George tried to sneak off into said pub as they passed it, but Mrs. Weasley was soon dragging them by the ear back towards the main street. That made Ron feel slightly better, and he was soon laughing with the rest of them.

Ginny went back to being silent, although she, at the very least, was no longer flinching whenever Lily looked at her. She supposed that was a good start, and she hoped to get a full sentence out of the girl before bedtime.

“Which one is yours?” Lily asked as they passed a few homes. She didn’t know what the Burrow looked like, but she assumed it couldn’t be too much further.

“Oh, we’re nowhere near there quite yet, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Can’t live too close to muggles, now, can we? They’d notice the boys flying their brooms around on the Quidditch pitch.”

Lily groaned; her feet were killing her from the day’s activities. Plus, she was itching to try out her new wand.

“Oh, it won’t be that bad, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said. “I’m sure the twins would be willing to carry you, if you’d like.”

“Oh, absolutely,” the twins said at once, grinning.

“They’ll drop me,” Lily said, sniffing.

“Oh, no, we wouldn’t think of it,” Fred said.

“Yeah, we’d come up with something much better than that,” George said.

“Like tossing you into the pond,” Fred said, earning him a swat on the arm from Mrs. Weasley.

“With the other Lilypads,” George said, earning him a swat on the arm from Lily.

Ron and Neville trailed behind, Ron going on and on about Quidditch. Neville was messing with a necklace Lily bought him for his birthday; it had a strain of enchanted ivy growing around the chain. The owner said it would grow depending on how happy the wearer was, and wilt if they were miserable. It was currently the same length, but Lily didn’t know if that was because of how Neville was feeling, or it if just took time to change.

Lily fidgeted with the wand in her pocket. She had her robe slung over her shoulders, having grown tired of wearing it hours ago. She also untucked her shirt, leaving it hanging messily out of her green vest. She would have taken that off, too, but she had nowhere convenient to stow it. Besides, she hadn’t worn an undershirt, so her dress shirt would look silly if she took off the vest. Lily brushed aside some loose hair from her ear, blowing her bangs out so her head would feel less hot.

“I like your earring,” Ginny said, quickly looking away.

Lily smiled, satisfied that she didn’t even need to try. “Thanks!” she said. “I used to have a matching one, but I, err, lost it.”

Ginny muttered something Lily couldn’t hear.

“Pardon?” she asked.

“She asked how you lost it, dear,” Mrs. Weasley interpreted.

“Oh,” Lily said. “I dropped it somewhere.” It wasn’t wholly the truth, but it also wasn’t a lie, either. She dropped it in the Forbidden Forest during her detention at some point after blowing up a bush to escape a unicorn killing monster.

Lily wiped the sweat from her forehead again. She was quite thirsty, and could really use a cold drink.

“How much further do we have to go?” Lily asked, hoping for the best.

“Oh, about another half hour,” Mrs. Weasley said, confirming the worst. “Fred! George! Put that down this instant!”

Lily turned, just missing whatever it was the twins had picked up. They were doing their best to seem inconspicuous. George was even whistling, while Fred pretended to be interested in a nearby tree. Mrs. Weasley wasn’t buying it, and she ran off to scold the two, leaving Lily with Ginny.

“Err,” Lily said, trying to think of what to say. “Do you know where to go from here?”

Ginny paused for a moment, face flushing again. It was amazing how quickly it could cycle between normalcy and complete embarrassment; it reminded Lily of her own.

“There’s only one road that goes home,” she said, pointing ahead of them. Lily couldn’t spy a road splintering off from their current one, so she assumed they were meant to keep on trudging forward.

“Let’s go, then,” Lily said, trying to stretch the aching out of her feet. “I really need to rest.”

Lily grabbed Ginny by the hand, dragging her along with her. She wanted to put some space between them and her mother; she’d never get Ginny out of her shell with Mrs. Weasley around guiding every conversation.

Lily and Ginny walked together for what felt like ages. Lily did let go of Ginny’s hand after they got a good lead, and the other girl seemed thankful for it. Her face was the same shade as her hair by the time they were alone.

Lily scratched at her scar again, wishing she had worn a hat; she could feel the back of her neck burning. She hoped Mrs. Weasley knew how to cure it; she knew Gran wouldn’t do it.

“Is that house yours?” Lily asked, squinting at the outline on the distance. The house looked taller than it was wide, and Lily could have sworn it was lopsided. She also saw a shed in the yard, which Lily had heard all about; she knew it was where Mr. Weasley tinkered with all his Muggle belongings.

“Yes,” Ginny mumbled.

Lily let out a sigh. “You have to talk to me, Ginny, I have to stay in your room a whole month.”

“I’ll try,” Ginny mumbled.

“I’m nice, I swear,” Lily said. She took a look around, trying to find somewhere comfortable to rest her feet.

Ginny, once again, mumbled something Lily couldn’t make out. She didn’t ask the girl to repeat herself; she assumed it was just another ‘I’ll try.’

“Should we wait for the others?” Lily asked, glancing behind. They were in view, but still quite a way behind. She yawned, stretching, then sat down on a nearby tree stump. She briefly wondered what cut it down, but seeing how the Weasleys were really the only option, she supposed that mystery solved itself.

Ginny hesitated, then took a seat on the same stump, right next to Lily. Lily thought that awfully bold, considering the girl’s previous reactions to being anywhere near.

“Do you want to see a spell?” Lily asked, whipping out her wand.

Ginny looked nervously towards her mother. “We aren’t supposed to use magic outside of school.”

Lily briefly wondered what sibling of Fred and George wouldn’t jump on the opportunity to break some rules. Then, she remembered Percy existed, and she decided that wasn’t very fair.

“Gran taught it to us before our first year,” Lily said. “It’ll be easy.”

“Well,” Ginny said, scratching the side of her head. “Just make it quick, so mum doesn’t see.”

“ _Lumos_ ,” Lily said, lighting up the tip of her wand. “You try, hurry.”

Ginny pulled out her own wand. “ _Lumos_ ,” she said, lighting up the tip of her own wand.

“See?” Lily said, throwing the wand back in her pocket, knowing it’d extinguish itself. “Easy enough, right?”

“How do I make it go out?” Ginny asked trying to hide the wand to the side of her body _not_ facing towards her mother.

“Just let go of it. Or you can saw _‘Nox,’_ but I’ve always just dropped mine.” Lily didn’t bring up that she had never _meant_ to drop it.

“ _Nox_ ,” Ginny said. The wand put itself out, and she tucked it into her own pocket before her mother could see what she was doing. “Why would you drop it?”

“It’s faster,” Lily said, leaving the other part unsaid. It was best Ginny did not find out how much a of a screw-up Lily was quite yet; she kind of liked having somebody look up to her.

“But then you don’t have your wand in your hand, so what’s the point?” Ginny was asking all of the right questions, it seemed.

“You’re awful talkative all of a sudden,” Lily said, trying to distract Ginny. The sun was currently blinding her, so she couldn’t see the other girl’s face.

Ginny blushed (or at least Lily assumed she did). “Well, you asked me to, is all.”

“Where’s the Quidditch pitch?” Lily asked, glancing back towards the house.

“It’s around back,” Ginny said. “It’s more of a field, really. Dad put up a few hoops for us, though, so we can play.”

“How do you fly?” Lily asked, hoping Gran and Mr. Weasley would be able to find her broom. She was itching to get into the air again, especially since the twins, at the very least, could go flying with her. Neville was terrified of flying, and Gran just refused.

“The boys don’t let me fly with them,” Ginny said. “But I did anyway while they were at school.”

“Well, you can fly with me,” Lily said. “I’ll even let you try out my broom.”

“Really?” Ginny asked, voice filled with excitement for the first time Lily had heard. It was almost enough to touch Lily’s heart.

“Sure, why not?” Lily said.

“Ron said you had a Nimbus, are you sure?” Ginny asked. “Those are really expensive, I don’t want to crash it.”

“I really don’t mind,” Lily said. “You can take it for a spin tomorrow, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please!” Ginny said, trying to contain herself.

“What are you two going on about?” Ron asked as he and Neville finally reached the two girls.

“Lily said I could fly her broom!” Ginny said, hopping up.

“What?’ Ron asked, locking onto Lily. “What are you doing that for? I haven’t even gotten a chance to fly it yet.”

“You can fly it after her,” Lily said. “And you did too get to fly it, you got a turn right after McGonagall bought it for me.”

“Well, that didn’t really count,” Ron said, ears turning red.

“Just because you fell off the thing doesn’t mean it doesn’t count, Ron,” Lily said, huffing.

“I thought you didn’t like flying,” Neville said.

“I didn’t like _Quidditch_ ,” Lily said. “The flying itself was great, though.”

“Why haven’t you flown over the summer, then?” Neville asked.

Lily sniffed. “Gran wouldn’t let me fly unsupervised, but she never wanted to go with me.”

“Can we go back to where you said you ‘don’t like Quidditch,’” Ron said.

“I’d prefer if we didn’t,” Lily said.

“Why don’t you like Quidditch?” Ginny asked.

“She almost died last year,” Neville said.

“And Quirrell won’t be there this year,” Ron said. “You have to try out again, Lily, nobody else is as good as you are.”

“I don’t know,” Lily said, biting her lip.

“You’ll be fine, Lily, nothing bad will happen,” Ron said.

“But what if-“

“Nothing bad will happen,” Ron repeated, this time with emphasis.

“Fine,” Lily said, giving up.

“Great,” Ron said, smiling widely. “With you, we’ll be-“

“But you have to try out with me,” Lily interrupted.

Ron’s smile faltered. “Pardon?”

“If I’m trying out, you have to, as well,” Lily said. “Otherwise, Gryffindor will have to make do without me.”

“I don’t know if-“ Ron said.

“Let’s shake on it, Ron,” Lily interrupted, holding out her hand. “I’ll do it if you do it.”

Ron hesitated. “I don’t have a good enough broom,” he said.

“I’ll let you use my Nimbus,” Lily said. “If you make it instead of me, then you can borrow it for the season.”

“What if we both make it?”

“Then I’ll buy you a broom,” Lily scoffed. “Think of it as an early Christmas present.”

Ron considered it for a moment, then took Lily’s hand.

“Fine,” he said, “But it’ll be a late birthday present, instead, you didn’t get me anything. And I get to pick the broom.”

“What’s this about a broom?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she finally caught up to the pack.

“Lily and Ron are both trying out for the Quidditch team,” Ginny said. “Lily said-“

“That he can borrow my broom if he makes it instead,” Lily said, cutting her off before she could spill the beans.

“Fat chance of that,” Fred said.

“Ron has never been much of a Seeker,” George said.

“And all the other positions are a given,” Fred said.

“It’ll be nice to have you back, though, Lily,” George said.

“That McLaggen was a real headache,” Fred said.

“What are you all waiting here for?” Mrs. Weasley said. “You should be inside, come on, now, let’s go.”

Mrs. Weasley led the way, taking Ginny by the hand (despite the girl’s protests). Lily followed behind with the others.

“Was he really that bad?” Lily asked.

“What do you mean?” Fred said.

“Didn’t you see him?” George said.

“No,” Lily said, looking away so they couldn’t see her guilty expression. She didn’t realize they hadn’t noticed her absence.

“She skipped the rest of the games,” Ron said in a taunting voice. “She was too busy studying, she said.”

Lily muttered a curse under her breath, condemning Ronald Weasley to a fiery demise.

“ _Studying_?” The twins said together.

“I know,” Ron said, shaking his head.

“Alright,” Lily said, blushing further. “I don’t need to hear it, I’ve already had enough.”

“I don’t think you have, dear Lily,” Fred said.

“Not really showing off your Gryffindor pride, are you?” George said.

“Not even bothering to show up for a couple of games,” Fred said.

“What would Mum think?” they said together.

“Don’t tell her,” Lily said. “Please, Gran doesn’t know, either, and she’ll _definitely_ throw a fit.”

The twins smiled, looking at each other.

“Not a word, then,” Fred said.

“Although, perhaps, a word or two might just slip out,” George said.

“Unless a little Lilypad were to do us a favor,” Fred said.

“Maybe even two,” George said.

“You’re blackmailing me?” Lily said, horrified. She’d always been told to avoid the twins, that they were no good, but she didn’t think them capable of _this_.

“Not at all,” Fred said.

“It’s an exchange of favors, that’s what we said,” George added.

“Consider it payment for our gift,” Fred said.

“You know,” Lily said, crossing her arms. “It’s not really a gift if I have to work for it.”

“We’ll discuss it later, then,” the twins said, smiling at each other. They ran ahead, past their mother and sister. Mrs. Weasley shouted after them, then stormed ahead, trying to reach a confrontation.

“You shouldn’t give in to those two so easily,” Percy said from behind. “They’ll get you into an awful lot of trouble, way you’ve been so chummy with them.”

“Sod off, Percy,” Ron said. “You’re just sore because they put itching powder in your socks last week.”

“Itching powder?” Lily asked, horrified.

“It wore off in a few hours,” Ron said. “They aren’t _cruel_.”

“Yes, well,” Percy began. “I’ll still be keeping an eye on them this year, and you, too, Lily, since you’re now in cahoots with them.”

“I’m not in cahoots with anybody,” Lily said, sniffing. “I can say no if I want to. What’s the worst they could do?”

“You really underestimate those two,” Ron said.

“Are you all coming or not?” Mrs. Weasley called from the front door. Percy strode faster, pushing past the second-year students. Lily thought he might have been offended, but she didn’t _really_ care; from what she had seen, Percy was her least favorite member of the family. He was always scolding her and telling her what she _ought_ to be doing. She hoped she wouldn’t be so snobby if she ever made prefect.

“Sorry it’s not much,” Ron said, ears turning red. “But it’s home.”

Lily took a look at the ramshackle house. It was most definitely lopsided, and it looked like large chunks of it were added long after the initial construction. There was paint chipping off of several walls, and it looked like it was held together entirely by magic. She could make out a garden at the side of the home, and it was largely tangled with weeds. She thought she saw a lumpy, potato-like creature dart into the bushes, but that could have been her imagination.

“I think it’s brilliant,” Lily said, smiling as she spotted the overgrown pond. She gasped, eyes locking on to something else, moving through the long grass of the lawn.

“What?” Ron asked.

“Is that a chicken?” Lily asked.

“Yeah?” Ron said. “So what?”

“I’ve never seen a chicken before,” Lily said, resisting the urge to chase after it.

“Well, watch out,” Ron said. “If you scare them, the rooster will come after you. He’s mean, he is. He’ll tear right into you.”

“Do you think I could pick it up?” Lily said, losing the battle and taking a step towards the bird.

“What did I just say?” Ron said.

“I’m not gonna scare it,” Lily said, inching closer. “I’m just gonna scoop it up.”

“If you say so,” Ron said from behind. “We’ll meet you inside. Come on, Neville.”

“Careful, Lily,” Neville said as he followed his friend.

“It’s just a chicken,” Lily said, continuing to move forward. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Lily found out quickly enough, and returned to the house defeated and ashamed a half hour later, covered in scratches, her clothes utterly ruined. As she attempted to enter through the front door, she ran into a rather large mass, and almost fell backwards onto the walkway.

“Good Lord, Lily, what have you done to yourself?” Gran asked, catching Lily by the arm.

“I just-“ Lily started.

“Shush,” Gran said, stepping outside and closing the door behind the two of them.

“But-“ Lily started.

“I said ‘shush,’” Gran repeated. She sized Lily up, getting an estimation of the damages.

“It was-“ Lily started.

“A chicken, I’ve heard,” Gran interrupted.

“Did you-“

“Find everything?” Gran interrupted again, sounding more stern. “Yes, girl, I found where you hid everything.”

Lily couldn’t hide the hurt she felt. “I didn’t _hide_ anything, it was-“

“You just stuffed it all into the office next door, Lily,” Gran said, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her further away from the house so nobody could overhear.

“I didn’t-“

“You did,’ Gran said, putting her hands on her hips, “And I won’t hear otherwise. I’ve had enough with your lies and cover stories. I don’t know what you were thinking, locking the bloody cat in there, too.”

“I would never-“

“That’s _enough_ , Lily,” Gran roared.

Lily’s argument froze in her throat, and she could feel her eyes watering.

“I don’t know _where_ this behavior is coming from, but you need to get ahold of yourself.”

“Gran-“ Lily said, finding her resolve again.

“I don’t want to take a more active hand in your schooling, but I will if necessary,” Gran said.

“Gran, I-“

“I’ve already written to Dumbledore and McGonagall, and the Governors will be having a meeting this weekend to discuss some new policies.”

Lily was flabbergasted that she wasn’t allowed to get a single word in for her defense. She opened her mouth to try again, but Gran waved her hand and cut her off once more.

“Hogwarts students have to be up to a higher standard, Lily, and if you can’t behave yourself, I can arrange for you to attend a different school until such a time where you _can_.”

Lily was now getting angry. “Gran, will you please-“

“If I hear so much as one thing from Minerva about you misbehaving again, I’ll be bringing you straight home. Is that clear?”

“Gran-“

“Is that _clear_?” Gran repeated.

Lily pursed her lips. “Yes,” she said, trying to keep her tone cool. “But if you would just-“

“And if you misbehave while you’re here, you won’t be getting on that train at all,” Gran said. “I don’t want to have a _single_ complaint from the Weasleys. Not one word.”

“Gran-“

Gran whipped out her wand. Lily flinched, thinking she was about to be physically disciplined. Gran waved her wand over Lily, and her clothes magically stitched themselves back together. Lily’s cuts and scratches still remained, though.

“I’ll leave the wounds as a punishment,” Gran explained. “They’re not bad enough to cause issue. Make sure you disinfect them before bed. I’ll let Mrs. Weasley borrow some diluted dittany. It won’t heal them, but it’ll keep you healthy.”

“Gran-“ Lily said, trying one more time now that Gran was in a slightly better mood.

“Mrs. Weasley needs your help in the kitchen. Wants you to help her with dinner. I’ll see you inside.” Gran turned and left, leaving Lily standing in the yard alone. She door shut behind the old woman, and Lily continued standing there, unsure of what to do.

She blinked away the tears from her eyes, giving a quick rub with her newly repaired sleeve. As she looked up, she thought she briefly saw a pair of large, green eyes before they vanished from the rooftop.

“What just happened?” Lily asked herself, voice choking up.

  



	6. 12th Birthday Blues

“There you are, Lily,” Mrs. Weasley said, handing over a bowl of peeled potatoes. “Throw those in that pot over there, if you would.”

Mrs. Weasley turned back to the pan she had been watching over, giving Lily a quick once over.

“How did you get covered in scratches?” she asked, stirring what appeared to be gravy.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lily mumbled, still in a foul mood.

“Well, we’ll get it all sorted out later,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley,” Lily said, dropping the potatoes into the pot.

“Ginny, why don’t you take Lily’s things up to your room once you’ve finished chopping those onions?”

Lily glanced at the table, noticing the ginger girl was sitting there alone. She had no idea where Ron, Neville, Gan, the twins, Percy, or Mr. Weasley were, although she could hear loud chatter in the living room.

“Do I have to?” Ginny asked, setting down the knife she was using to slice the celery.

“Yes,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“I can take them up, they’re my things,” Lily offered.

“Absolutely not,” Mrs. Weasley said, “You’re a guest here, you shouldn’t have to lift a finger.”

Lily paused as she began slicing some carrots, wondering what she was doing in the kitchen if she, apparently, wasn’t supposed to be in here.

“Then why does she have to help cook?” Ginny asked, bringing a voice to Lily’s thoughts.

“Bless her,” Lily whispered to herself.

“This isn’t work, everybody should learn how to cook,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“I already know how to cook,” Lily said, taking over chopping the celery for Ginny; the way she handled the knife made Lily very uncomfortable.

“Do you now?” Mrs. Weasley asked in a tone of surprise and interest. “Where did you learn that? Mrs. Longbottom does everything with magic, refused to come help the rest of us in the kitchen.”

“Aunt Petunia had me cooking every meal since I was six. At least, when I wasn’t stuck in the cupboard for something.” Lily’s mood was starting to brighten as she sliced, and she started humming a tune to herself.

“That’s far too young,” Mrs. Weasley snapped, “What was that woman thinking, throwing a six-year-old into the kitchen, really. Imagine giving a child a knife!”

Lily was a little surprised at the flash of anger, but she calmed once she realized it wasn’t directed towards her. Mrs. Weasley apparently chose to ignore that not only did she have Ginny using a knife moments before, but that Lily was currently using one herself.

“I only cut myself a few times,” Lily said, eyeing the scars she had on her hand left hand. She couldn’t tell what had come from the kitchen prep anymore; the same hand was bitten by Hagrid’s pet dragon, Norbert, last year, and that had left worse scarring than the kitchen accidents. Her right hand was currently scar free, and she hoped to keep it that way.

“That’s a few times too many,” Mrs. Weasley said. “You could have seriously burnt yourself, or even lost a finger. Why, Ginny here-“

“It’s fine,” Lily interrupted. “I liked the cooking, it was the only time I had where the Dursleys were nice to me.” The Dursleys had never dared to mistreat her while she was behind the stove, and she always enjoyed those brief moments of peace.

Of course, that never stopped them from shoving her into the cupboard at the slightest provocation, so Petunia still did most of the meals. Lily had a brief revelation that they always seemed to enjoy her meals more; Aunt Petunia had an obsession with trying to force health food on them all.

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, voice full of sympathy. “You’re welcome to help me in the kitchen any time you’d like, I’d love to show you my recipes.”

Lily considered it with a smile on her lips. Aunt Petunia never taught her a thing; it was entirely on her to figure everything out. She suddenly realized how much of a miracle it was that she’d learned anything at all.

“What about me?” Ginny asked, standing in the middle of the room, having returned from taking Lily’s belongings upstairs.

“Of course you’re welcome to help, Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley said, patting her on the shoulder as she passed, “But you’ve always hated being in the kitchen with me.”

“That’s just because you always tell me what to do,” Ginny said, trying to stir some sauce Mrs. Weasley had on the stovetop. The matriarch smacked her hand away, taking over, which Lily found a little funny. Ginny looked offended at her giggling, though, so Lily quickly stifled it.

“You’re not ready for the hard stuff yet, you almost- oh, look, your fathers on his way home, finally.” Mrs. Weasley said, eyeing a clock they kept on the kitchen wall. Lily looked over, noticing it for the first time.

It had too many handles, and no numbers on the clock face. Instead, it had a label in each time slot, (one of which read work, while another read ‘mortal peril’), and the handles had the name of each Weasley on it. Mr. Weasley’s (labelled dad) had slid from ‘Work’ to ‘In Transit.’

“I thought he was already here,” Lily said, confused. “Didn’t he help bring our things?”

“Yes, dear, but he got a call soon after asking him to come back to work. There was a bit of an emergency that he needed to sort out, but he _did_ say it wouldn’t take long.” Mrs. Weasley didn’t sound happy about it, even if he had held true to his word.

The clock hand slid once more, locking in at the ‘home’ position with the rest of the family. Lily briefly noticed between her chopping duties that there were two more family members, labelled Bill and Charlie, who’s hands were pointing towards home as well.

“I thought Bill and Charlie weren’t here anymore,” Lily said.

“They’re still at their own homes,” Ginny piped up from Mrs. Weasley’s side of the kitchen. Lily heard another brief slap, and assumed Ginny had tried to stir something again.

There was a knock on the door, and Ginny almost went for it before her mother stopped her.

“I’ll get that, dear, you stir the pot,” she said.

“I was trying to,” Ginny grumbled.

Mrs. Weasley swung the door open, throwing her arms around the man outside. He returned the hug, briefcase clattering against his wife’s posterior. Mr. Weasley looked rather tired, but he smiled anyway, clearly happy to be home. He was wearing business robes, and they looked rather well-used. He had a rather frayed hat to go along with it, which he swept off as he entered, revealing his balding, ginger head.

“Welcome home, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, giving Mr. Weasley a peck on the cheek.

“Hello, dear,” Mr. Weasley said, returning the kiss, then pushing inside.

“How was work?” Ginny asked from the stove where she was dutifully stirring a pot and getting sauce all over the countertop.

“Long day, long day. You’d never believe what came in today, Perkins about threw a fit.”

“You go have a seat at the table, Arthur, while we finish up supper,” Mrs. Weasley said, trying to guide him to the table.

Lily left her position the same table with the celery finished, intending to dump them in the proper dish. She left the knife on the cutting board; she’d need to do the onions next.

“Here you are, Ginny, hang that up for me,” Mr. Weasley said, handing his hat to Lily as he sat down at the table, giving a grunt as he sat down, clearly exhausted from his long, long day.

Lily stood there, hat in one hand, celery in the other, looking confused, and Ginny sniggered from her corner of the kitchen.  
“That’s Lily, Arthur,” Mrs. Weasley said, standing back in front of the stovetop after moving Ginny out of the way. She waved her wand with one hand, vanishing all the mess Ginny caused.

Mr. Weasley did a doubletake, eyes moving across Lily. He seemed flustered, and Lily felt his eyes briefly stop at her scar. He extended his hand, clearly embarrassed, and Lily took the offered handshake, feeling rather the same emotions.

“Sorry about that,” Mr. Weasley said, “Not used to having another girl around the house. The red hair threw me off, too.”

Mr. Weasley rubbed his own balding head as he said that, as if to compare his own red hair to Lily’s.

“Mine’s darker,” Lily said, messing with the hat in her hands, unsure what to do with it. The celery was taken care of, so she had the hand free.

“Right you are,” Mr. Weasley said, handing the suitcase off to Ginny as she attempted to sit down at the table with her father. “Take that upstairs, would you, Ginny?”

“I just sat down,” Ginny grumbled, standing up to do as she was told. She was soon heard stomping up the staircase.

“Why doesn’t that girl ever argue with you?” Mrs. Weasley said.

“Who knows?” Mr. Weasley said, winking at Lily. He gestured for her to sit down across from him, and she did so, feeling a little nervous. She’d never met the man before, and unlike Mrs. Weasley, she’d heard very little about him.

“So,” he started, digging into his pockets. “I found this with the rest of your things.”

Lily suddenly felt nervous, wondering if he’d found the unicorn hair she’d kept from her adventure in the forbidden forest; she was still unsure how legal it was to have.

Mr. Weasley pulled out a think, cylindrical object. “Care to explain?”

“It’s a pen,” Lily said, feeling immense relief. “Muggles use it to write.”

“Fascinating,” Mr. Weasley said, staring at the foreign object. “How does it work?”

Lily blushed. “I don’t know, exactly, but I do know that it holds ink in it. It’s like a quill, but you don’t have to dip it every few seconds.”

“Fascinating,” Mr. Weasley said, taking the pen back. He held it in his hands, then tried to write on his hand.

“You’re holding it backwards,” Lily said, taking it from him. “The tip is here, on the other end.’

“But that end is more blunt,” Mr. Weasley said, pointing at the thick cover.

“You have to take the cap off first,” Lily said, reaching over and yanking it off with a _pop_.

“Fascinating,” Mr. Weasley said again, seemingly amazed by such a simple object. “Do you mind if I keep this?”

“Go ahead,” Lily said. “McGonagall said we aren’t allowed to use them at Hogwarts, even though they’re easier than quills.”

“It’s quite interesting what muggles will do to get along without magic, isn’t it?” Mr. Weasley said, clearly not hearing what Lily said.

“Well, supper is almost ready,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Just waiting on those potatoes, now.”

“Oh, good,” Mr. Weasley said, placing the pen back in his pocket. Lily had to stop herself from pointing out that he had forgotten to put the cap back on. “Where are the others, then?”

“Ron and Neville are outside setting up the table, you just sent Ginny up, and the twins are keeping Mrs. Longbottom company in the living room.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Lily had to agree; if Gran thought _her_ untrustworthy, the twins would be a foreign creature to her. Even if Lily quite liked them, the faculty at the school clearly believed otherwise.

“It’s fine,” Mrs. Weasley said. “They seem to actually listen to her. I’ll have to ask her how she does it before she leaves.”

“Well, why don’t we go join the boys outside?” Mr. Weasley said, rising from the table. Lily followed him up, then out.

“How do you like living with the Longbottoms?” he asked as they headed out towards the garden.

Lily bit her lip, trying to think of a way to answer the question that _wouldn’t_ get her in more trouble than Gran. It had been quite pleasant last year, but as time went on, it reminded her more and more of her life with the Dursleys, with the way Gran constantly yelled at her.

“You know you’re always welcome here if you want to be,” Mr. Weasley offered. Lily looked up, and could see him smiling reassuringly. They were now stopped in the garden, Mr. Weasley leaning down slightly to look Lily in the eye.

“I don’t know,” Lily mumbled, biting her lip again. She was very grateful for the offer, but Gran _could_ be nice when she wanted to be, and she’d hate to leave Neville there alone, even if he never got torn into like she did.

“Ron’s told us quite a bit about you, did you know?” Mr. Weasley chuckled to himself as they began walking again. They could hear Ron and Neville around the corner, laughing about something.

“What’s Ron been talking about me for?” Lily asked, puzzled.

“Well,” Mr. Weasley said, scratching his nose. “I shouldn’t say, don’t want to get the boy into trouble. How did my advice work out for you?”

“Advice?” Lily asked, not knowing what he was referring to.

“Dad!” Ron called out from the table. “When did you get home?”

“Just now,” Mr. Weasley said, taking a seat next to his son. Lily took the seat across from him, right next to Neville. “You wrote last semester, right before your exams, remember?”

“Oh!” Lily said, remembering. “I’m not sure yet, but the exam was really easy! I didn’t really have the time to test it, like you said I wouldn’t.”

“Well, give it a try this year, and then let me know,” Mr. Weasley said. “I’ll try to think of a backup, just in case.”

“How was work, dad?” Ron asked, trying to grab his father’s attention. Lily didn’t mind at all; she wasn’t a member of the family.

“Long,” Mr. Weasley said. “We got a call about a muggle fire hose that was shooting actual fire, and that took ages to sort out.”

“That’s dreadful!” Lily said, thinking it actually sounded quite interesting. She would have loved to see it, and would have loved knowing how to make it happen even more.

“What’s a firehose?” Neville asked.

“It’s what the fire-flighters use to shoot at water,” Mr. Weasley said.

“That’s right,” Lily said. “But they’re shooting the water _at_ fire. And they’re not fire- _flighters_ , they’re fire- _fighters_. Or, you can just call them firemen.”

“What about the women, then?” Mr. Weasley said with genuine interest in his voice.

“I think they’re called the same,” Lily said.

“Fascinating,” Mr. Weasley said. “How do those suits work, do you know?”

Lily blushed. “I have no idea,” she admitted.

“I’ll have to remember to ask one the next time I see one,” he said. “It’ll have to be before the Obliviators arrive, of course, that way I don’t break things further.”

“Obliviators?” Lily asked, her turn to be confused.

“They’re the people in charge of wiping the memories of muggles who accidentally encounter magic,” Ron said proudly.

“Very delicate work, you have to be very precise,” Mr. Weasley clarified.

“Wizards can go around just erasing people’s memories?” Lily asked, horrified. “That’s horrible!” This time she meant it; it sounded like an absolute nightmare.

“Well, it’s heavily regulated,” Mr. Weasley said. “You have to be well-trained to become an Obliviator. They receive almost as much training as those in St. Mungo’s. And unauthorized use of a memory charm can land you some serious time in Azkaban.”

“I know that one!” Lily said, excited. “That’s the wizard prison, right?”

“That’s the one,” Mr. Weasley said, smiling. “And what about you boys, what have you been talking about?”

“Quidditch,” Ron said happily.

“That’s about all you talk about,” Mr. Weasley said. “Don’t you ever get tired of discussing the Chudley Cannons?”

“Never,” Ron said. “Hey dad, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Lily and me are both trying out for the Quidditch team this year,” Ron said the same excited tone. “She said she’d let me use her broom if I got in!”

“Oh really?” Mr. Weasley asked, looking over at Lily. “Already got your birthday present, then?”

“What present?” Lily asked confused.

“Disregard that,” Mr. Weasley quickly said, looking away. “What about you, Neville? You trying out, too?”

“I hate flying,” Neville said sheepishly.

“It’s not for everyone,” Mr. Weasley said. “Charlie was a natural, the team was no good once he left, but Percy is miserable at it.”

“Charlie used to play Quidditch?” Lily asked. All she knew about him was that he really liked dragons and that he lived in Romania. Lily didn’t even know where Romania _was_ ; she’d never liked geography.

“Course he did,” Ron said. “I must have told you a thousand times, he played Seeker, just like you.”

“He was good, too,” Mr. Weasley threw in. “He could have played for England, if he had wanted to.”

“Why’d he go with dragons?” Neville asked.

“That’s the mystery, isn’t it?” Ron said.

“It’s really no mystery at all,” Mr. Weasley said. “Charlie likes working outside, and he always really enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures. He was offered a position in Romania, and he jumped on it.”

“I still don’t get it,” Ron said, shaking his head. “If I get the chance, I’m taking Quidditch.”

“Going to play for your dear Cannons?” Fred asked, taking the last remaining seat next to Ron.

“That’ll really improve their odds,” George said, sitting next to Lily.

“A second year can’t be any worse than Lindell,” Fred said.

“Sod off,” Ron said, ears turning red. “Lindell is a fine Keeper, it’s the chasers that are the problem.”

“And the Beaters,” Fred said.

“And the Seeker,” George said.

“And the coach,” Mr. Weasley said.

“They just need some better talent, is all,” Ron said. Lily didn’t know about that one; they sounded hopeless. She didn’t understand how the team Ron obsessed so much over could apparently be so bad.

“The problem there, Ron, is that nobody wants to play for them,” Mr. Weasley said. “Why take a contract with the Cannons when you could take one with the Arrows, Catapults, or Falcons? Their glory days are long gone; Dorkins has run them into the ground.” Lily had never heard of any of those teams, she just nodded along in agreement.

“The Minstrels got made just so all the players could avoid the Cannons,” Gran said, taking a seat next to Neville. Lily hadn’t heard of _that_ team, either.

“They’re halfway decent, too,” Mr. Weasley said. “They might even have a shot at the cup in a few years, once they get some more experience.”

“Here’s supper,” Mrs. Weasley said, guiding all sorts of platters over with her wand. A roast turkey placed itself directly in front of Lily, with rolls placed right next to it. She had a sneaking suspicion that Ron had told his mother what Lily’s favorite foods at Hogwarts were, because the table was filled with them.

Aside from the rolls and turkey, there was mashed potatoes, gravy, cabbage (which she knew Ron hated, but quite liked herself), pudding, and even some plump sausages. Lily could hardly contain herself, and eagerly piled food onto her plate. She never even noticed Ginny squeezing in besides her, pushing George to the side.

“Good lord, Lily,” Gran said. “Do try to contain yourself.”

“What?” Lily asked, pausing as she lifted another forkful to her mouth.

“You eat just like Ron,” Mrs. Weasley said, chuckling. “Barely take the time to breath.”

“I’m winning, though,” Ron said, mouth stuffed with food.

“Not for long,” Lily said, cramming a roll down her gullet.

“Truly marvelous,” Gran said, rolling her eyes. “At this rate, you’ll need some new robes before the semester even starts.”

“Oh, Augusta, let the girl eat,” Mrs. Weasley said, patting Lily on the hand. Lily’s eyes flickered over to Gran, who seemed displeased. Lily continued eating anyway, trying to enjoy her birthday supper.

By the end of the meal, Lily had won by a full plate, but only because they had simply run out of food. Fred and George ran interference, trying to keep Ron from grabbing things faster than Lily could, and she needed all the help she could get. She was completely full by the time the last carrot had been devoured, and could not have eaten another bite. Had they been at Hogwarts, where everything magically refills, Lily would never have come close to winning.

“I’m still hungry,” Ron said, rubbing his stomach in a way that seemed like he was not, in fact, still hungry.

“Of course you are,” Fred said.

“Hardly eaten, haven’t you?” George said.

“You’re practically starving,” Fred said.

“Truly remarkable,” Gran said, shaking her head. Lily didn’t know which youngster she was referring to, but the tone was full of disappointment.

“I suppose no one’s in the mood for cake?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“I could go for some cake,” Lily said, trying to reorganize her stomach to fit in some dessert. She thought she could at least squeeze down a slice of cake, provided it was a smaller one.

“I think you’ve had quite enough,” Gran said.

“Oh, let the girl have some cake, Augusta,” Mrs. Weasley said, standing up to go fetch it. She was off before Gran could argue any further.

Gran sniffed. “I suppose we’ll need those new robes after all, then,” she said snidely.

“Best get on it, then,” Lily said, tired of Gran’s complaining.

“Now don’t you start,” Gran said, wagging a finger.

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it again. She wasn’t in the mood to argue; not in front of this many people, anyway.

“Here you are, dears,” Mrs. Weasley said, setting the cake down in front of Lily (who was in the middle of the table). It read ‘Happy Birthday Lily and Neville’ in large, red letters on white icing, and had two different sets of candles, both numbering twelve each. Lily realized she’d never had a birthday cake before as she and Neville both blew out their own set.

The first bite was the sweetest thing Lily had ever tasted. It was a mix of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, reminding Lily of a large tub of Neapolitan. Lily wasn’t sure how she’d made it, but she’d love to find out.

An hour later, after the cake was devoured (mostly by Ron and Lily, who had more room for cake than she thought she had), the family all retreated back inside, sitting in front of a toasty fire in the living room.

Lily was quite content; she hadn’t felt this good since she left Hogwarts. The Longbottoms hardly ever just sat around, talking with each other, but the Weasleys had been doing that since they all arrived home. Ron and Neville were talking with Fred and George about various Quidditch teams, Ginny was regaling her father with tales of today’s shopping, Mr. Weasley then started talking about his own workday in response, Mrs. Weasley was chatting with Gran quietly in the corner (with both sets of eyes occasionally darting towards Lily) while trying to listen in on what her husband was saying.

Lily leaned back in her armchair, breathing in deeply to try and settle the ache in her stomach; she really did have too much to eat. Weasley chose that moment to hop up into her lap; he’d spent most of the evening exploring the household or staring up at the attic while listening to the ghoul groan. Lily stroked his back as the cat snuggled into her lap.

She smiled, feeling happier than she ever had before. For just this once, she was surrounded by people she liked, and not a single person was yelling at her. She wished it could last forever.

“So, I said to Perkins,” Mr. Weasley said, reaching the end of his work story. “That if they want to keep the desk as is, that’s fine, but we still have to fill out the paperwork.”

“And what did he say, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Well, Perkins, he turned right around, and he just blasted the desk apart.”

“Why would he do that?” Neville asked, confused.

“Because the forms for damage of property are significantly shorter than those for a misused artifact,” Mr. Weasley explained. “He shaved two hours off the workday with that shortcut.”

Percy sniffed. “That doesn’t seem very proper, you both could have gotten in a lot of trouble.”

“Well, sure,” Mr. Weasley said. “But we got the job done, didn’t we?”

“You should have reported him,” Percy said. “You could have gotten a reward.”

“Son,” Mr. Weasley said gently, “You can’t just go around reporting on everyone, you’ll not be well-liked if word gets around that you’re a rat.”

“Percy can’t help it,” Fred said.

“It’s in his nature,” George said.

“He and Scabbers are brothers,” Fred said.

“And he even gave him up to Ron,” George said.

“And all because Scabbers drooled a little on his pillow,” Fred said.

“That’s enough, you two,” Mrs. Weasley said, standing up and heading towards the hallway closet. “Well, shall we get along to the presents, then?”

“Presents?” Neville asked.

“Yes, Neville, what did you think we were all here for?” Gran said. Neville looked a little dejected at that, which brought Lily’s mood down.

“We even sang ‘happy birthday’ for you,” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Neville blushed. “I just didn’t think there was anything else, is all.”

Mrs. Weasley produced a bin full of packages, placing them in the center of the room. She wiped her brow, then placed her hands on her hips, smiling as she looked between Lily and Neville.

“Who’s first, then?” she asked.

“I already gave Neville his present,” Lily said.

“We’ll start with you then, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, handing Lily a wrapped parcel. Lily flipped it around, trying to find a label. It was crudely packaged and a bit lumpy, just like the sweater Lily received for Christmas.

“That’s from me and Arthur,” she said, patting her husband on the hand. “Hope you like it.”

Lily tore the paper off, pulling out a set of gold and red ties.

“Gryffindor ties?” She asked, trying to keep her tone light to hide her disappointment; ties were definitely _not_ her favorite thing in the world. She had been hoping for another sweater, personally.

“A bit disappointing of a reveal,” Mr. Weasley admitted. “Except, Ron told us you’re always loosening yours, they’re always too tight for you. These loosen themselves, and then readjust with a single touch whenever you need them to.”

“That should keep McGonagall off you,” Mrs. Weasley said, winking at Lily.

“For just the one thing,” Gran added, snorting. Lily decided to ignore that comment, although Mrs. Weasley certainly shot the older woman a stern look.

“Thank you!” Lily said, genuinely touched that they had put so much thought into something Lily had never even considered. She’d get up to give them a hug, but Weasley was just starting to get comfortable, and she didn’t want to disturb the cat. Mrs. Weasley seemed to get the issue, though, and she was soon throwing herself around Lily so the younger girl wouldn’t need to move.

“Just touch the knot to loosen them,” Mr. Weasley said, poking at his one throat. “Then touch it again whenever you need it tight again.”

“And for you, Neville,” Mrs. Weasley said, handing Neville a parcel of his own after she finally released Lily. Lily almost missed the contact; she hadn’t realized how much she quite liked hugs until now. She’d certainly never gotten one from Gran.

“You really didn’t need to get him anything,” Gran said. Neville frowned slightly at that, which was a reaction mimicked in full by Mrs. Weasley, who shot Gran another stern look.

“Oh, we really wanted to,” Mrs. Weasley said, throwing a smile back on. Neville tore open the paper, producing a green notebook. He opened it, flipping through the pages. He let it fall back to the cover, and ran his fingers over the engraved spine.

“Took me awhile to get my hands on that,” Mr. Weasley said, as Neville teared up slightly. Lily was shocked; Neville rarely ever showed any emotion.  
“What is it?” Gran said, furrowing her brow.

“It’s Frank’s old journal, from his Auror days,” Mr. Weasley said. “It got packed away with the rest of his stuff. They found it in storage, gathering dust. The Aurors don’t usually give up any personal belongings, but Kingsley let me have it for a few favors.”

“It doesn’t have any investigation notes in it, does it?” Gran asked. “I don’t want to get you into any trouble.”

“No,” Mr. Weasley said. “They’d never give me those. That was just his daily thoughts. All Aurors are required to keep one, so that if they get Imperius’d, the others can use that to hopefully figure it out before they can do any damage. They have to turn them in for monthly inspections.”

“That seems a little personal,” Gran said.

“Well, desperate times call for desperate measures,” Mr. Weasley said gravely. “The protocol saved many lives. They should have rolled it out for the rest of the Ministry; we might have caught more spies if they had, and things might not have been so bad.”

Lily could feel a little twinge of fear at the talk of darker times; they mentioned no names, but she knew exactly who they were talking about. The other children seemed unaware of the change in atmosphere, however, and were mostly focused on Neville’s reaction. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve, then stood up and threw Mr. Weasley into a hug. Mr. Weasley seemed surprised, but he returned it, smiling in content.

“Thanks,” Neville said after regaining his composure. Ron gave him a pat on the back, looking uncomfortable and unsure what to do.  
“You take good care of that, Neville,” Gran said. “I don’t want to hear about you losing it like you do everything else.”

“I will,” Neville said, placing it gently on the armrest of his chair.

“This is from Neville and Ron, Lily,” Mrs. Weasley said, handing Lily a suspiciously book-shaped parcel. Lily tore off the wrappings, confirming her suspicions.

“ _A Series of Advanced Charms, Vol. 1,_ ” Lily read aloud. She looked up at her two friends, beaming. “Thanks! Where did you find it?”

“Flourish and Blotts,” Neville said.

“They have a whole section on advanced work,” Ron said. “This won’t be the last time we dip in there for a present, so, please, stay out of it.”

“Just pay attention to what I buy myself,” Lily said, sniffing as she flipped through the first few pages. This was _definitely_ all beyond her current abilities; the diagrams and explanations made no sense, and likely wouldn’t for quite some time. Some of the spells didn’t even have incantations to work off of, and Lily had no idea how _that_ would work.

“Ron came up with the idea,” Neville said. “I didn’t have any idea what to get you before he did.”

Ron seemed slightly proud of this fact, although his ears did turn red when his mother gave him a kiss on the cheek for being so thoughtful. Lily continued flipping through the pages, trying to find a single spell she could work on over the summer.

She didn’t ask what the price had been, but she was sure Neville covered most of it. With this book in hand, she’d have two advanced sources to dig through this year (with the Potions book she had received from the mystery sender), on top of the one Hermione had given her for Christmas the _last year_ that she had still barely dipped into. Perhaps she should go through that one _first_. It’d be much easier than this new one.

Neville went next again, opening up _A Selection of Magical Foreign Plant-life,_ much to his own excitement. Ron had gifted that as well (the book was notably secondhand, although Neville didn’t seem to mind), and he just seemed confused that both of his friends had been so happy to receive an additional textbook.

“You’re both mad,” Ron said, shaking his head, ignoring that he had been the one to pick out both of the gifts.

Lily opened a gift from Ginny next, while Neville opened one from Fred and George (they had wanted to give Lily’s hers in private later, to which both Gran and Mrs. Weasley were suspicious). Lily received a bracelet from Ginny. It was silver, with little red hearts embedded around the center ring.

“Dad shaped it for me,” Ginny said, turning red from embarrassment. “I hope you like it.”

“I love it,” Lily said, slipping it on her left wrist to offset the single earring on her right side. She motioned for Ginny to come closer, and the younger girl did so apprehensively. Lily pulled her into a tight hug. Ginny was flustered but returned it after a second or two. Physical tenderness seemed to embarrass all of the Weasley clan with the _exception_ of Mrs. Weasley, Lily noted. She now knew who to go to for her hugs.

Lily received a pocket-sized telescope from Percy, while Neville received a planner. They both thanked him eagerly, although Lily could tell neither of their hearts were in it. It seemed to satisfy Percy, though, who wore a smile the rest of the night. After him, the bin was empty, with all the Weasley gifts gone.

“Well, I suppose it’s my turn,” Gran said standing up. “I’ll be back in a flash,” she said, spinning in place and disappearing with a _pop_.

“Well, now,” Mrs. Weasley said. “She really could have brought them with her in the first place, she didn’t need to go back for them.”

“I tried to tell her that, dear,” Mr. Weasley said. “But Augusta does things her way. There’s no arguing with her.”

“Don’t I know it,” Lily said with a sigh, leaning further back in her armchair. She gave Weasley a scratch on his belly, and the cat snuggled closer, purring affectionately.

“Reminds me of someone else we know,” Fred said, staring at his mother, who crossed her arms sternly.

“Or maybe two,” George said, staring at Ginny, who crossed her arms in a huff.

“Or maybe three,” Ron said, staring at Lily, who had no argument and was perfectly happy to sit there and wait for Gran to return.

A moment later, and Gran appeared back in the living room with another _pop_ , startling Ginny, who hadn’t been prepared for it. Weasley looked up lazily, but then laid his head back down shortly after. Lily scratched his chin for him.

“Here you are,” Gran said, tossing a long, thin package at Lily, and another smaller, thicker package at Neville. She sat back down in her seat, placing her hands across her belly in satisfaction.

Lily barely caught her present, and the sudden movement startled Weasley from his perch. The cat was soon slinking away into the kitchen, deciding the living room was no longer safe.

Lily looked over at Neville, who looked back at her, both waiting for the other one to go first. Lily had no idea what Gran would even _get_ her, and she didn’t want to seem disappointed if it ended up being something terrible. Neville seemed to have the same idea; his track of presents had never been very impressive before today.

“What are you waiting for?” Gran barked. “Get on with it!”

Neville took the initiative, opening his present first. He pulled out a small, purple potted plant. He beamed, looking quickly up at his grandmother. “Gran, is this?”

“Animated Froggrass,” she said, nodding her head. Everybody else in the room leaned forward, trying to get a look at the strange foliage.

It was purple, short, and stout, with razor sharp edges around the surface. It was also in the shape of a fat frog, although what would have been limbs were actually roots extending down into the soil. It certainly did not seem animated, however, as it was currently sitting very still.

“How old is it?” Neville asked in an excited tone.

“Only two years,” Gran said, smiling. “It’ll be another three before it starts moving.”

“I’ll have to repot it over the summer,” Neville said, looking around at all the confused redheads in the room. “Froggrass doesn’t start growing until the spring, when it starts to sing.”

“Does it sound like a frog?” Lily asked, then blushed, since it seemed like a stupid question. Gran never seemed to like her asking questions; yet another trait she had in common with the Dursleys, come to think of it.

“Actually,” Neville said, smiling at the question, “The sound changes depending on the plant, they each get a different set of sounds depending on the environment they’re grown in.”

“When will we find out?” Ron asked, actually managing to take an interest for once. Normally he never perked up unless the discussion was about Quidditch or a Professor trying to steal a magic stone that could make them immortal.

“They start singing before they start moving,” Neville said. “So if not this year, then the next one for sure.”

Neville got up, setting the plant carefully on the floor next to his seat. He strode over to his grandmother, then threw her into a hug.

“Thanks, Gran,” he said.

“Happy birthday, Neville,” Gran said, returning the hug (which was quite rare, from what Lily had observed). She seemed uncomfortable, although she had no reason to be. Lily may not have spent much time around the boy during the holidays, but she’d gotten plenty of hugs from him at school.

Neville sat back down, scooping the plant back up so he could admire it some more. The eyes all fell back on Lily, waiting for her to open her own gift.

She shook it, but that didn’t really tell her anything.

“Oh, just open it already,” Gran said. “It won’t bite you.”

“I hope not,” Lily said, peeling away the corner. When she saw twigs, she let out a scream, then tore off the rest of the paper.

It was a new broomstick, and the black, sleek handle proudly bore the words “Nimbus 2001.” The broom handle was shorter than the previous model, but the bristles were much longer, and the stirrups were silver instead of gold.

“Wicked,” Ron and the twins said together from across the room.

“They weren’t supposed to launch until mid-August,” Gran said, smiling again. “I had to call in a _lot_ of favors to get this one, so don’t you go breaking it.”

Lily hopped up, quickly throwing her arms around Gran. That seemed to make the old lady more uncomfortable, but Lily didn’t care, she was too caught up on the excitement. She hopped a couple more times, then ran out of the living room, heading straight out the front door.

“Lily, wait!” Mrs. Weasley called. “It’s too dark to fly!”

Lily mounted the broom, then kicked off before anybody could get out to stop her. She _needed_ this after how poorly the summer had gone so far.

Lily breathed in deeply as she soared into the air, then let out a loud yell of triumph. She circled the house a few times, not wanting to go too far in the dark. She realized, once again, just how fun flying was, and she also realized that she was _looking forward_ to playing Quidditch again. She’d be unstoppable with this new broom.

Lily came to a stop, staring up at the moon. The 2001 accelerated and came to a stop far more quickly than the previous model. She tapped her fingers on the handle, considering flying it over the nearby village real quick; nobody would notice with it this dark out.

“Lily!” Gran shouted from below. “You get down here _this instant!_ ”

Lily bit her lip. That was the _exact_ tone that Uncle Vernon always used right before he shoved Lily into the cupboard. She descended into a dive so she could get down quickly; she could see where the ground was from the house lights shining on the lawn.

Ten feet above the ground, Lily’s broom came to a sudden stop, and she flew straight off of it. She landed hard on the ground, rolling several times before coming to a halt.

“Lily!” she heard from a collection of voices.

“Are you alright, dear? Didn’t break anything, did you?” Mrs. Weasley asked when she made it over, voice full of worry.

“M’fine,” Lily managed between spitting out dirt and grass. She could feel warmth covering her face, and when she wiped at it, she realized her nose was bleeding.

“Oh, that’s great,” Mrs. Weasley said, smiling in relief. Lily could only assume her face wasn’t currently visible, otherwise she’d still be worried. “Let’s just get you inside, then, and we’ll fix you right-“

“Pardon me,” Gran interrupted, voice full of wrath, as she yanked Lily to her feet and then marched the both of them a dozen meters away. Lily glanced back, noticing Mrs. Weasley pushing the rest of the Weasleys into the house while she stayed behind to watch the two of them.

“What were you thinking?” Gran demanded, holding Lily’s arm in a tight grip.

“Let go,” Lily said, yanking her arm away and rubbing at it. She could still feel where Gran’s fingertips had been.

“I want an answer, Lily,” Gran demanded. “What in the bloody hell did you think you were doing?”

“I was going for a fly,” Lily said, hoping that was the correct term for it.

“Oh, just going for a fly, is that all?” Gran said in a mocking tone. She gave Lily a sharp smack on her forehead, and Lily winced.

“Don’t-“ Lily started, rubbing at the spot.

“I’ve given you too much leeway, I think,” Gran said. “I knew the broom was a mistake, but Neville talked me into it, said you’d just _love_ it. Clearly you can’t even handle _that_ much.”

Lily clenched her fists tightly to her sides. “I can _handle_ the broom just fine, it just stopped.”

“Just stopped,” Gran scoffed. “Brooms don’t just _stop_ , Lily, _you_ stopped it and then you jumped off.  
“Why would I do that?” Lily shouted.

“I can only assume it was for the attention,” Gran said, raising her own voice. “And don’t you _dare_ take that tone with me.”

“I’m not-“ Lily started, losing her cool.

“I’m warning you, Lily,” Gran said, pointing her finger in the younger girl’s face. “I’ve given you plenty of warnings, and you still haven’t gotten it. You _need_ to behave yourself.”

“Gran, I was just-“

“I think that’s quite enough,” Mrs. Weasley interrupted, striding towards the both of them.

Gran frowned, glaring at the other woman. “I think _I_ decide when it’s enough, thank you very much.”

“I don’t believe you do,” Mrs. Weasley said. “For Merlin’s sake, Augusta, it’s the girl’s _birthday_ , she was just having a bit of fun.”

“After you told her not to?” Gran said, scoffing.

“Of course I asked her not to, she could have hurt herself,” Mrs. Weasley admitted, “But I knew full-well there was no stopping her. Kids are always doing dumb things and getting themselves hurt.”

“I’m not a kid,” Lily muttered, feeling thankful that Mrs. Weasley stepped in to save her. She was _not_ arguing her side very well.

“I don’t think I’ll have you telling me how to raise the girl, thank you very much,” Gran said. “I believe Dumbledore gave _me_ the authority.”

“Dumbledore said I could pick,” Lily butted in.

“And you picked me,” Gran snapped.

“While she’s here, we’ll be taking care of her,” Mrs. Weasley said firmly, placing her foot down.

“Maybe I’ll just be taking the both of them back with me then, hmm?” Gran said.

“I’m staying,” Lily said, putting her own foot down.

“Don’t you start, Lily,” Gran said. “I had my reservations, with the way you’ve been acting, but I thought since it was your birthday I’d give you a chance, and that’s the _third_ time you’ve gone and broken that trust.”

“Gran, please,” Lily said, losing a bit of her determination. “I want to stay, don’t make me leave.”

“I think-“ Gran started.

“I think she’ll be staying,” Mrs. Weasley said. “After all, Dumbledore did say it was her choice, didn’t she?”

“That isn’t quite what he meant,” Gran grumbled.

“I’m staying,” Lily said quickly, taking her chance.

“Fine,” Gran relented. “But I’ll be taking back that broom, clearly you aren’t ready for it yet.”

“I think not,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Lily didn’t mean to fall off her broom, and she needs more practice with it.”

“Fine,” Gran said again, tone getting more fed up. “I assume you’ll be willing to accept the damages, then? I won’t be footing the bill if she breaks the thing.”

“You’re really more concerned about the damages to the _broom_ than to _Lily_?” Mrs. Weasley shouted.

“Of course not, Lily’s _fine_ ,” Gran said. “She spent the whole summer falling down the stairs, I don’t think anything’s capable of doing her in.”

“ _Fine_?” Mrs. Weasley screeched. “Look at her, Augusta, she’s covered in blood!”

“A broken nose or two’s never done someone in,” Augusta said, waving it off. “Why, Frank-“

“Enough,” Mrs. Weasley said, yanking Lily to her side. “I’ll go get her fixed up while you-“

“I’ll be heading off, then,” Gran said, losing her cool again. “Do give Neville my regards. I’ll be seeing you at the station.”

“You’re just _leaving_?” Mrs. Weasley asked in a surprised voice.

“You seem to have everything under control here, don’t you?” Gran said snidely. “I see no reason to stay, now that the party’s over.”

“Fine, then,” Mrs. Weasley said, trying to throw on a false smile. “We’ll be seeing you at the station.”

“Have a good summer, Lily,” Gran said, throwing on an equally fake smile. With a turn and a _pop_ , Gran was gone.

“The nerve of that woman,” Mrs. Weasley said as she lead Lily back to the house. Lily could see the rest of the Weasleys, plus Neville, waiting for the both of them in the Kitchen. Ginny waved, looking relieved to see Lily reenter the light.

“Thanks,” Lily muttered, wiping away the tears in her eyes so the others couldn’t see them.

“For what, dear,” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“For letting me stay,” Lily said, sniffing and wiping her eyes again. “I love it here.”

Mrs. Weasley smiled. “Of course, dear, I couldn’t let you go home like that, now could I?”

Lily shook her head. “Hogwarts is my home,” she said.

Mrs. Weasley got that sad look in her eyes again as they flitted up towards Lily’s scar. Lily didn’t try to hide it this time; she just threw Mrs. Weasley into a hug.


	7. Quidditch Woes

“I said you could have the 2000, Ron,” Lily repeated for the seventh time. “You don’t have to keep returning it to me.”

“But-“ he said, trying to argue for the eight time.

“No buts,” Lily said, wagging her finger like Gran. She quickly stopped herself; she couldn’t stand it when Gran did it, and she wouldn’t allow herself to do the same. “I don’t need a second broom, I have the 2001.”

“But what if you-“

“Besides, this way we can both be on the team at the same time,” Lily said, finishing up the polish on her broomstick. “Now, do you want to come flying with me and Ginny or not?”

“I’ll come,” Ron said quickly. He still had the broom on him after all. He’d spent the afternoon polishing it alongside Lily, making use of the kit Lily still had from the last year.

“Can I have your old broom, Ron?” Ginny asked.

“Sure, why not,” Ron said. “I don’t need it anymore, apparently.”

Ginny gave a little squeal, then set off running for the broom shed. Lily smiled as she saw the skipping girl vanish from view.

“Bless her,” she said.

“What do you fly, anyway?” Neville asked.

“A Nimbus,” Ron said, finally holding the used broom proudly. It was still quite handsome, Lily thought. A few twigs were out of place, sure, but she really hadn’t gotten enough time with it for wear to truly begin.

“I meant before,” Neville said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s a Shooting Star,” Ginny said, coming back from the broom shed. Lily thought that was very fast; she didn’t think she’d have been able to manage the same time.

“It’s not very good,” Ron said. “But it was the best they could afford.”

“I think it’s fine,” Ginny said. “I used to fly on it while you all were at school.”

“Who said you could do that?” Ron asked, squinting his eyes at her. Lily certainly hoped he wasn’t about to start a fight over a broom he no longer needed.

“Mum did,” Ginny said. “You couldn’t use it anyway, why do you care?”

“It’s mine,” Ron said.

“Not anymore,” Ginny said, sticking out her tongue.

“I can still take it back,” Ron said.

“And I can still take back the Nimbus if you want the Shooting Star that badly,” Lily said. One thing she noticed during her short stay with the Weasleys was that they all argued _all the time_. She also noticed that it was never filled with the same sort of tension her own arguments had with Gran. They were all back to being friendly pretty quickly after each discussion was over.

“Fine,” Ron said. “She can have the thing, but she doesn’t get to use my Nimbus.”

“I don’t need it,” Ginny said. “Lily already promised I could ride her broom.”

Lily frowned. “Did I?”

“You did,” Ginny said. “You said I could, right before you went chasing that chicken.”

“Oh,” Lily said, blushing. “Well, I meant the 2000, didn’t I? I didn’t even know I _had_ a 2001 yet.”

“You promised,” Ginny said, crossing her arms.

“You did promise,” Ron said, smiling.

“You did promise,” Neville said, smiling.

“I did promise,” Lily said, sighing. “Fine, but only for a few minutes, I really don’t want it to-“

Ginny threw her arms around Lily in a hug, the broom she was holding smacking against the back of Lily’s legs.

“Thanks, Lily,” she said.

Lily’s arms were pinned to her sides, so she couldn’t return the hug, but it filled her heart anyway. She settled for resting her chin against the top of Ginny’s head; she hoped that got the point across.

“What’s Neville going to fly?” Ginny asked as she broke the contact. “I could go grab Percy’s broom, but I don’t think Fred and George would let him use theirs.”

“I don’t like flying,” Neville said sheepishly.

“We can’t play Quidditch with three people, mate,” Ron said.

“Don’t force him to, Ron,” Lily said. “You saw what happened at our first flying lesson.”

“Yeah, but you _didn’t_ see the rest after you got exempted. He figured it out, and he was fine!”

Lily gave Ron a sharp glance, trying to let him know that he shouldn’t push the point if Neville didn’t want to. He wouldn’t get it, of course, but she had to try.

“It was terrible,” Neville said, eyes full of horror. “I thought I was going to die for sure.”

“I’ve been there,” Lily said fondly, trying to mask her own feelings of horror. She had brief flashbacks of a man with two faces trying to strangle the life out of her. That wasn’t the specific memory she was going for, but it was certainly the more vivid of the two.

“We could get Fred and George,” Ginny said.

“Then we’ll have five,” Ron said, “so the teams would be uneven.”

“I could sit out,” Lily offered, feeling a little glum about it.

“Why would you do that?” Ron asked, perplexed.

“My broom is much better, it wouldn’t be fair,” Lily said.

“You have to play, mate,” Ron said, shaking his head. Lily opened her mouth to argue some more, but she stopped when she noticed Neville shaking his head behind Ron. She could take a hint, even if Ron couldn’t.

“What if we grabbed Percy, too?” Ginny offered.

“Like he’d ever play,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “He’s been cooped up in his room all summer, studying and doing who knows what.”

“I bet he’d listen to me,” Ginny said, already turning to run back to the house.

“Fine,” Ron said as she went. “We’ll meet you at the pitch, then.”

“Where’s the pitch?” Lily asked, checking around the lawn for a sign of hoops. She saw another chicken and felt a brief surge of excitement.

“Hold off a sec,” Ron said, lowering his voice. “Before she gets back, Ginny said you’ve been having nightmares.”

“I have?” Lily asked, confused.

“She said you’ve been talking and shouting in your sleep,” Ron said, nodding.

“Why are you the one telling me?” Lily asked. “Ginny could have-“

“She was too nervous,” Ron said. “She thought you might leave the room if she did, but she looks like she hasn’t been getting much sleep lately, so I thought I’d say something.”

“Neville,” Lily said, turning to the other boy, who was doing his best to seem inconspicuous. “Do I scream in my sleep?”

Neville blushed, quickly looking away so he didn’t have to meet Lily’s eyes. She huffed and crossed her arms, already knowing the answer he was about to give.

“Sometimes,” he said, looking at his feet.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Lily asked, suddenly thinking of all the times she had woken up covered in sweat and tied up in her blanket. If it was _that_ big of an issue, she didn’t want it persisting during their stay at Hogwarts.

“I didn’t know what to say,” Neville said. “It made sense, after what you went through last year.”

“You should have told me,” Lily said, huffing again. “I would have told you. Now I have to apologize to Ginny for keeping her up.”

“You’ve already apologized enough, letting her ride your broom.” Ron said. “I’d forgive you for killing my family, if you gave me a spin on it.”

“Ron!” Lily said in shock.

“Well, maybe not for just one ride, you’d have to give me the thing.”

“What have you been dreaming about?” Neville asked, ignoring Ron.

“I don’t know,” Lily answered, biting her lip. “I’ve never remembered any normal dreams, why would a nightmare be different?”

“Well, they tend to stick out a bit more,” Ron said, walking off towards the back of the house.

Lily took the jest in stride, although she wasn’t happy about it. She was getting more used to people poking fun of her over their stay here; they all did it to each other. It would have hurt her feelings just a few months ago, though.

“I think I might try out for Chaser,” Lily said, humming as they walked. The conversation was dead now, and she decided it was time for a new topic.

“What?” Ron said. “You’re a natural Seeker, why would you do that?”

“It looks more fun,” Lily said. “I didn’t get to play with anyone else when I was Seeker.”

“You got to play with plenty,” Ron said. “Or did you forget all the bludgers that got sent your way?”

“I didn’t forget,” Lily said. “I’m not explaining myself very well. I just meant that Chasers get to toss the Quaffle and interact with more people. I don’t get to do that as Seeker.”

“You’ll never get the position,” Ron said, shaking his head. “Angelina, Katie, and Alicia are too good; it’d take a miracle to unseat one of them.”

“How are you going to get on, then?” Lily asked in a huff.

“I won’t,” Ron said. “Best I can hope for is a reserve position.”

“We’re allowed reserve players?” Lily asked. The team didn’t have any last year, so she just thought every team was limited to the seven players. Otherwise, Lily could have been replaced the first game, and they wouldn’t have lost so badly.

“Of course,” Ron said. “The Hogwarts team doesn’t usually go for them, though, because we aren’t allowed to switch players midgame in the school league. Reserve players only get a chance to play if a starter gets injured and has to sit out a game or two.”

“I could always push Katie down the stairs for you,” Lily said, giving the boy a wink. Katie was actually her favorite member of the team; Lily liked how pretty her hair was when tied up in a ponytail. That was the only reason she was keeping her own in one, despite how uncomfortable she felt whenever somebody looked up at her scar. She was planning on letting it back down before they went to school so that nobody else could see.

“That’s horrible,” Ron said, still chuckling to himself. “Wouldn’t work, anyway. I was going to try out for Keeper.”

“But Wood plays Keeper,” Neville said.

“I don’t think the position is even available for try outs,” Lily said. “The captain has to play.”

“You have more odds as a Chaser anyway,” Neville said. “There’s three of them, so three times the chances of injuries.”

“And nobody tries to knock out the Keeper,” Lily said. “Wood said there’s all sorts of penalties for interfering with them.”

“I just don’t know if I’m good enough for Chaser,” Ron admitted. Lily was genuinely touched; the ginger boy almost never showed any signs of vulnerability, but he looked very nervous to even be talking about this subject.

“You’ll have a better broom than all three of them,” Lily said to try and bolster his spirits. “I think all three of them were using Cleansweeps.”

“Comets, actually,” Ron corrected. “And having a better broom than them actually doesn’t matter, I don’t want to out speed them too much or I won’t be able to pass the Quaffle.”

“If I make Chaser, you won’t have to worry about it,” Lily said, winking.

“Course I will,” Ron said. “The 2001 is a pro standard broom, it’s the fastest on the market.”

“Really?” Lily asked, amazed. The broom she was holding casually over her shoulder suddenly felt a lot more important than it had before.

“How do you not know these things?” Ron said, shaking his head in disbelief. Lily blushed; nobody could make her feel ignorant like Ron could, but at least he never sounded malicious about it like Gran did.

Lily spotted the hoops in the distance and decided to fly the rest of the way. She mounted her broom, and then kicked off, speeding away. She heard Ron shout from the ground as she went, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

It took Lily only a few seconds to reach the Quidditch field. It was significantly smaller than the one at school, but that was to be expected. It was just meant for kids to play and practice on, not to hold actual games. Lily had been told the Hogwarts stadium was as large as the professional leagues, to let the students get practice should they decide to pursue that career, but she didn’t know how true that was.

Ron flew up beside Lily soon after, grinning at how good his new broom was. His red-hair was swept back, which only heightened his smile. Lily went to brush her own hair aside, forgetting that she still had it tied up. She tried to play it off as scratching the back of her neck, but Ron didn’t seem to notice.

“Did you see that?” Ron said. “It’s unbelievable how good this broom is, I feel invincible!”

“The 2001’s even better,” Lily said, smiling. “It only takes fraction of the time to reach top speed, and then it’s even faster.”

“I suppose I’ll get a chance to fly it next year,” Ron said, “Once you get another broom.”

“If this is the fastest there is, Ron, I think it might be a while before that happens,” Lily said.

“Brooms are getting much faster now,” Ron said. “A few decades ago, my Shooting Star might have been competitive level.”

“Really?” Lily asked.

“Well, no,” Ron said. “But it would have topped casuals. Now it’s just a toy for kids to practice on.”

Lily squinted in the hot sunlight, trying to find where their other companion had gotten off to. Neville seemed to be walking back to the house, but she couldn’t make out any other Weasleys yet aside from the mother tending to the garden.

“Neville went back to the house,” Ron said, guessing at what Lily was looking for. “Said he didn’t feel like watching us fly around all day, so he’d help mum in the garden.”

“He’ll like that better,” Lily said, nodding. “He actually really likes gardening, and yours is a bit weedy.” She hoped that was the right word for it; she was thankful Neville wasn’t around to embarrass her for being wrong.

“That’s because mum keeps trying to make us take care of it,” Ron said. “She doesn’t have the time, herself, and the rest of us just don’t really care. We do enough to keep her off our backs, though.”

“You should help out more,” Lily said.

“What’s the point?” Ron said, snorting. “It’s just to keep us busy, mum could do it all in a few seconds with magic.”

“Hey,” Lily said, taking out her wand now that Ron had given her an idea. “Do you want to learn the blasting charm?”

“Now?” Ron said, going wide-eyed.

“Sure,” Lily said, smiling. “I said I’d teach you so long as nobody else found out, and nobody else is around.”

Ron took his own wand out, looking eager. “You sure mum won’t hear?”

“I think we’re far enough away,” Lily said. “And we could always blame it on Fred and George, I’ve heard blasts coming from their room every day I’ve been here.”

“Only thing is,” Ron said, “they aren’t out here yet.”

“I think she’d still believe it,” Lily said. “Do you want to try it out, or not?”

“Course I do,” Ron said. “What do I do?” Ron looked around nervously, just doublechecking to make sure nobody was around. Despite his boasts, he wasn’t at all used to breaking the rules, and this particular one was a big rule.

“Just choose an object,” Lily said, pointing her light-colored wand at a shrub way down below. “Then point, and say _‘Confringo.’”_

As she spoke the word, a miniscule jet of flame shot from the tip of her wand, flying straight to where it was aimed. When it made contact with the shrub, the plant exploded in a loud _boom_ , and shrapnel flew all over the nearby area.

“Wicked,” Ron said. “I don’t think that was loud enough to hear from the house, either.”

“Give it a try, quick,” Lily said, “Before the others get here.”

Ron lifted his wand, then hesitated. “You don’t think it works on animals, do you? I’d hate to hurt a bird or something.”

Lily gasped in shock. “I didn’t think of that,” she said.

“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Ron said.

“Wait,” Lily said, remembering something. “Flitwick had me show him the charm for my final, he would have mentioned something if it was that dangerous.”

Ron thought for a moment. “He made you use the blasting charm? But you told us about the pineapple!”

“There was a pineapple sitting on the desk when I went in,” Lily said, “He said you all would be making it dance when he put it away.”

“And you’re sure it won’t hurt anything?”

“Well, it’ll hurt whatever the blast hits,” Lily said. “When I blew up the mirror, I got a shard of glass in my leg.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t-“

“Oh, just go for it,” Lily said, rolling her eyes. “Just choose something small and you won’t hurt a thing.”

“But what about your Gran? She said you’d be in big trouble if you practiced magic while you were here.”

Lily frowned at the boy. “How did you know that?”

Ron’s ears turned red. “Mum may have mentioned it Neville and I were in the kitchen. She told us to keep an eye on you. Didn’t want you getting in trouble.”

“Well, you aren’t gonna tell Gran, are you?” Lily asked.

“Course not,” Ron said. “I was just saying, is all.”

“Just go for it, Ron,” Lily said. “I’ll worry about Gran later.”

“ _Confringo,_ ” Ron said, finally making up his mind. A wisp of flame shot from his wand and the fizzled a few feet away, never reaching whatever target he had been aiming for.

“You have to put more feeling into it,” Lily said.

“You did it on accident your first time,” Ron said, ears a brighter red.

“True,” Lily admitted. “But that’s what the spoken words are for. Flitwick said the intent is the most important thing, but for beginners, the spoken words _are_ the intent.”

“I don’t get it, why would that make it work for but not me?” Ron said, trying again, but only getting his flame to shoot the same distance.

“I think I do,” Lily said, biting her lip, “But I don’t know how to explain it. Just keep practicing, you’ll get it.”

“I don’t have the time,” Ron said, pointing back towards the house. “Ginny is coming with the others.”

Lily squinted, seeing four figures. “She _did_ manage to convince Percy.”

“And there’s no way _he’ll_ let us practice,” Ron grumbled.

“You’re right,” Lily agreed, stuffing her wand back into her robe. She liked to dress a little thicker when she flew; it could get chilly in the air. “I can teach you something easier later, if you want, and we can work our way up.”

“Like what?” Ron said.

“I don’t know,” Lily said. “I’ll figure it out later.”

“So, what’s the split, then?” Fred asked as he pulled up alongside the two on his own broom.

“How long are we playing for?” asked Percy. “I’ve got something I need to-“

“Oh, stuff it, Percy,” George said, pulling up beside his twin.

“It won’t kill you to have a little fun,” Fred said.

“I think we’ll put one twin on each team,” Lily said. “And I have the best broom, so I’ll take Ginny, since she has the worst.”

“You can take it, George,” Fred offered.

“No, no, elders first,” George said.

“We’re back to that, then?” Fred said. “Just because-“

“Fine, we’ll take Fred,” Lily interrupted so she wouldn’t have to hear the full argument; they could likely go on for quite a while. Fred seemed put out, but George looked pleased with the outcome.

“You play Keeper, Percy,” Ron said, ordering his own team. “George and I will play Chaser.”

“If you insist,” Percy said, flying to the goal posts. His broom looked like it had hardly been touched; Lily didn’t know why he didn’t just give it to someone who would actually use the thing.

“Fred, you take Keeper,” Lily said after thinking about who was best for the position.

“What?” Fred said. “Are you mad? I’ve got the better broom, give it to Ginny.”

“We’ll switch you if it doesn’t work out,” Lily said. “But if we put the slowest broom on the goal posts, it’ll be easier for them to sink one in.”

“Fine,” Fred said, “But I’m blaming you if we lose, I won’t let George hold it over me.” Fred flew over to the goals, taking his spot on their side. He certainly didn’t look happy about it, but Lily thought she could change his mind if she played well.

“I’ll take point, Ginny,” Lily said. “Just try to avoid your brothers, and everything should be fine.”

“I’m going to knock George off his broom,” Ginny said with a smile of determination.

“I like your spirit, but let’s try to avoid collisions, we don’t have a Hospital Wing here.” Lily shuddered, thinking of her own time spent with Madame Pomfrey the last year. She hoped she could avoid it this time around.

They played a series of games, Ginny somehow managing to pull Percy back in after every single one before he could find an excuse to leave. Lily’s team took the first three (due in large part to how fast Lily’s broom was compared to the others), but Ron’s took the next three (because Lily had agreed to switch Fred out, and just as she feared, Ginny’s broom wasn’t fast enough to stop any goals), leaving them with no choice but to hold a tie breaker.

“Fred, you’ll have to take Keeper again,” Lily said.

“But we were so close in that last one, if you hadn’t dropped the Quaffle, I could have sunk it,” Fred argued, waving his arms in the year.

“I know, I messed up the last one,” Lily admitted, “But the first three weren’t anywhere near close, Ginny plays a better Chaser than you do. We can clean this up, and then we can all have the bragging rights for the rest of the summer.”

“Until we play again,” Fred said.

“I don’t think we can convince Percy to come out again,” Ginny said. “He’s been groaning every five minutes about how he wants to stop.”

“Just leave it to me,” Lily said. “It’s first to 150, I’ll get them in as quickly as I can.”

“Your flying’s been getting less smooth every game,” Fred said. “You’re getting tired, why don’t you let me and Ginny play Chaser while you play Keeper?”

Lily frowned. “Well, I suppose I could, but-“

“But nothing,” Fred said. “It’s a good idea, you need the rest.”

Lily _was_ feeling saddle-sore. She was pretty sure Fred just wanted any excuse to not play another round of Keeper, and she was almost willing to give it him. He was currently shooting her his best set of puppy-dog eyes.

“Alright,” Lily said, giving in to his charm, “But you better not screw around, Fred, I can’t take anymore of Ron’s bragging.”

“Are you ladies coming or not?” Ron called from across the field.

“I wish George wouldn’t encourage that,” Fred said., glaring at his brother.

“I’m sure he came up with it,” Lily said. “They won’t be laughing when we beat them, though.”

“Yeah, let’s get out there, girls,” Ginny said, flying off to take her position.

“I hope George didn’t hear that,” Fred said, flying off to his own.

Lily let out a chuckle, then flew to the goalposts. She froze halfway there, eyes snapping to a nearby tree.

There were large, green eyes peering out of the foliage. Her hand gripped her wand, tucked safely into her robes. She started pulling it out, trying to decide what spell would be best to use on their spy.

“Lily,” Ron called out, “Get in position already, we’re losing light.”

Lily’s head jerked back to look at Ron, and by the time she focused back on the tree, the eyes were gone. She bit her lip, but took her post up at the goals. The last time she had seen those eyes was when she broke her wand, and she _really_ didn’t want another repeat. Ollivander might not be able to find her another one.

“Incoming,” Fred yelled out after Ron slipped by him.

Ron tossed the Quaffle towards the left post, taking advantage of Lily being near the right. It sailed right through. Lily couldn’t reach it fast enough after her distraction. Ron cheered, elated that he’d scored so early. That didn’t bode well; Ron could play a lot better when he thought he was doing well.

Ron managed to sink two more in before Lily finally blocked one. She was too alert, and her eyes kept wandering back towards the trees. Plus, with every goal Ron made, he felt more confident about himself.

Lily grumbled to herself after Ron managed to sneak in a fourth one. Fred was clearly getting upset with them all; Ginny’s broom wasn’t good enough to score, so he was the only one who could, and yet he was playing less consistently than Ron and George were.

Lily managed to get a good rhythm going after blocking two in a row from Ron, although George did manage to get one in right after when she wasn’t paying attention.

Fred managed to get three in a row after that; Percy’s reflexes weren’t the sharpest. That brought the score up to 50-30, significantly closing the gap.

Lily blocked four more goals while Fred scored one. Ginny somehow managed to score right after he did, tying the game up.

Lily got a little full of herself then and started making cockier remarks every time Ron or George failed to get past her. That only made Ron play worse, which made her feel bad about her actions, so she quickly cut that out. There was no point in playing a game if it wasn’t fun for everybody. She let Ron sink one past her on purpose after that just so he’d feel better.

Lily quickly realized she should _not_ have done that once Ron quickly scored three more goals, bringing the score to 90-50.

“Lily, come on, that was an easy block,” Fred shouted after Ron slipped one more right by her. Lily tried to ignore him so she could get her head back in the game.

Lily called a timeout so they could formulate some sort of strategy, and Fred and Ginny hurried over to listen to her.

“Lily, what are you doing, we’re getting creamed out here,” Fred said as he pulled up.

“I know,” Lily admitted. “I need you both to end the game soon, or we’ll lose.”

“Just block the shots!” Fred said, pulling at his hair.

“I can’t, Ron’s gotten too many goals, now, and once he gets going, he’s hard to stop.” Lily squinted in the sunlight; the setting sun was now directly in her eyes, which didn’t help her goalkeeping abilities.

“So what do we do, then?” Ginny asked, getting them back on task.

“Like I said, you both need to end this game and fast, or Ron’ll do it for you,” Lily said, pointing to where the team of boys were huddled together, laughing about something.

“Good strategy meeting, Lily,” Fred said, rolling his eyes. “Really, truly marvelous job.”

“You know, Fred, I like you a lot more when you’re with your brother,” Lily said, letting a tiny bit of her frustration out.

Fred opened his mouth up to say something else, but Ron interrupted from across the field.

"We're losing daylight, get a move on!”

Fred grumbled, but flew away, Ginny following soon after with an apologetic look. Lily grumbled to herself as well, not sure _how_ she’d stop Ron from ending it before they could score ten goals.

Ron scored two goals almost immediately after the game resumed, making Lily even more worried. Fred scored three times after that, surprising Lily immensely, and Ginny even managed to score for her second time.

That was something Lily hadn’t considered; Percy wasn’t at all used to this much activity, and he was clearly completely exhausted. Fred and Ginny both managed to score one more time each, bringing it to a tied game.

George took advantage of the situation, crashing into Fred before he could toss the Quaffle. Ron caught the falling ball, and sped towards Lily. Lily went right, Ron went left, and the Quaffle soared through the post. Lily shouted, Ron shouted, Fred shouted.

The game was 140-110, Ron’s favor. He had possession of the Quaffle. Lily quickly wiped off her forehead so the sweat wouldn’t run into her eyes. Fred intercepted the Quaffle when Ron tried passing to George.

Lily tried to wipe her palms on her robes, so that they wouldn’t slide around the broomstick as much. She missed the gloves she had worn during the games last year, but she didn’t own a pair of her own.

Ron intercepted a pass from Ginny to Fred and sped towards their side of the field. Lily bit her lip, trying to figure out which way Ron was heading. He feinted left, but Lily didn’t fall for it, and swerved right just as Ron did.

Ron tossed the Quaffle towards the right post, Lily stretching her arms out to catch it.

Lily slid straight off her broom, plummeting straight towards the ground. The Quaffle soared right over her head, straight into the hoop. She let out a brief screech, flailing her arms uselessly in the air.

Arms gripped tightly around her waist a few meters above the ground, slowing her fall, and then her and her savior both fell roughly onto the grass below.

“Got you,” Ron said, groaning as he rolled over from his spot on the land.

Lily spat out some grass. Despite Ron’s protection, she landed face first and got a mouthful of dirt for it. At least she didn’t break her nose this time. Mrs. Weasley would have given her an earful if she had.

“What happened?’ she asked, rolling over to look up at the sky. Her broom clattered down next to her, taking its sweet time to obey gravity.

“Dunno,” Ron said. “It looked like your broom just stopped in midair.”

“Not again,” Lily groaned. “It was supposed to be Quirrell’s fault, not mine.”

“It can’t be yours,” Ron said. Lily thought it was sweet of him to try, but it happened on her birthday, too. She had to be doing something wrong, or maybe there was even something wrong with the broom. It _was_ an early release; maybe it wasn’t fully tested.

“Are you two all right down there?’ George called out, sounding elated at his victory.

“Did they not notice?” Lily grumbled. Ginny and Fred seemed upset that they lost, while George and Percy were celebrating. It wasn’t at all a proper response for a friend nearly dying.

“Guess not,” Ron said. “I think we should have a redo.”

“No,” Lily said, sighing. “You won fair and square, I should have kept my seat.”

“But-“

“Congratulations, Ron, you beat the world-famous Hazel Potter,” Lily said, offering a handshake. It was a little awkward, considering they were both still laying in the grass. “Youngest Hogwarts Seeker in a hundred years, most celebrated player in centuries.”

“You really feel highly about yourself, don’t you?’ Ron said, grinning widely as he placed his hand on hers. Lily assumed that was as good as it was going to get if neither of them was willing to get up.

“Not at all,” Lily said. “I was just quoting you from last year.”

After Ron’s (and George’s) much needed ego boost, they all returned to the house together. The sun was well-past setting now, and Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips when they arrived.

“There you are,” she said in a huff. “Think you can just spend all day playing Quidditch, hmm? Didn’t even spare a single thought for Neville helping me in the garden, did you?”

“He likes gardening, mum,” Ron said as a defense. Neville wasn’t currently visible; Lily assumed he was already at the table, waiting for them to arrive so they could all eat.

“And you’re lucky he does, or you’d actually be in trouble,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Now, you lot take your brooms to the shed, and then come inside and wash off.”

“Losers have to take the brooms,” Ron said, handing Lily’s old Nimbus to her. He slipped inside, right past his disapproving mother.

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Lily said as Percy piled his broom into her arms as well.

“Sure it does,” George said, “But I’ll take Ginny’s spot, don’t you worry.”

“But I want to-“ Ginny started.

“Never you mind,” Fred said, pushing his younger sister indoors, “Let the adults handle this.”

“But you’re not-“ Ginny started.

George interrupted by closing the door behind her, shutting off her protests. Lily could see Mrs. Weasley shaking her head inside, as well as Ron sitting down at the table next to Neville. Supper looked good. She was looking forward to eating whatever scraps were left by the time she returned.

“Well, now, shall we head off?” George said as he placed his broom and Ginny’s into Lily’s already overcrowded arms.

“I thought you were helping,” Lily grumbled as they marched off.

“That was just an excuse,” Fred said as he piled his broom into her arms as well.  
“You lost too,” Lily protested.

“Ah, but I have your present,” Fred said, patting his robe.

“And I didn’t lose,” George said, patting the pile of brooms.

“Fine,” Lily said as they made their way across the lawn. “But it better be good if I have to carry everything.”

“I don’t think you’ll have any room to complain,” George said, winking,

Fred opened the broom shed for Lily, and she dumped all their brooms into a corner (making sure to carefully tuck her own in so it wouldn’t get damaged). The twins quickly clambered in behind her, shutting the door so that they’d all be stuck inside.

“Hey-“ Lily shouted, suddenly feeling a bit panicked now that she was locked in a dimly lit room with two much larger teenage boys.

“Don’t you worry a pretty little hair on your head,” Fred said, as he whipped out a wad of papers. “We just don’t want mum to see what you’re getting.”

“What is this?” Lily asked as she took the paper into her hand.

“That is the secret to our success,” George explained.

Fred took out his wand, placing it on the paper. “Just repeat these words whenever you need it: I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”

Lily gasped as the paper suddenly filled out with words and shapes.

“Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present the Marauder’s Map,” she read aloud.

“We owe them so much,” George said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

“Is this Hogwarts?” Lily asked as she flipped through it. The walls were defined by words and letters, as if somebody had to write the boundaries together.

“Sure is,” Fred said. “It shows every single place inside the castle and on the grounds, as well as where everybody is.”

Lily frowned. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Well, it’s summer, isn’t it?” George said. “The only person there would be Dumbledore, but he’s usually visiting Hogsmeade around this time.”

“And you be careful with it,” Fred said. “We thought it might be too early to part with it, but you clearly need it more than we do, with the way you kept getting caught last year.”

Lily refrained from reminding them that she was only ever caught once. Granted, she had gotten into a _lot_ of trouble, but her record was still mostly clean.

“How do you make it blank again?” she asked after trying to fold it back into place.

“Just say “Mischief Managed,” Fred said. As he did so, the text on the map vanished, and it could now be easily folded back into the original form.

“Brilliant,” Lily said, smiling widely. Between this and the cloak, she’d like to see McGonagall _try_ to catch her now.


	8. All-Seeing Eyes

“You read a lot,” Ginny said sleepily from her bed.

Lily looked up. She was sitting on the spare mattress, textbooks open all around her while she studied. Ginny was, of course, still laying in bed, her hair unkempt and full of knots.

“I’m just studying,” Lily said.

“You study a lot, then,” Ginny corrected.

Lily glanced down at her Transfiguration book and got back to work, copying a few diagrams she found from Charms into the margins. “I want to get ahead.”

“Well, have you?”

“Have I what?”

“Gotten ahead?”

Lily paused, setting her quill down on the book. She didn’t care if the ink left a blotch; she learned a nifty charm from Mr. Weasley for getting splotches off of important paperwork. He made her promise not to tell anyone, of course, since she wasn’t supposed to be doing magic outside of school.

“Let’s find out,” she said, picking up her wand from her side and pointing it at an apple she brought up from the kitchen; she made a run for breakfast an hour ago while Ginny was still sleeping. Mrs. Weasley didn’t have anything ready yet, but she did offer Lily some fruit and a muffin instead.

“What are you doing?” Ginny asked. She sat up on her bed, swinging her feet in the air since they didn’t quite reach the ground.

“Trying to turn this apple into a bird,” Lily said, trying to imagine how an apple would go about morphing into such a creature. It was a red apple, and Lily was having trouble thinking of any red birds. It was probably too early in the morning for this, but now she had an audience that she didn’t want to disappoint.

“That doesn’t seem too hard,” Ginny said. “Dad messes around with things all the time, and he’s never had any trouble with it.”

“That’s great, Gin,” Lily said, trying to ignore her hurt feelings. “ _Avifors,_ ” she said, casting a spell straight at the apple.

“It didn’t do anything,” Ginny said.

“I noticed, Ginny,” Lily said a little more sharply than she would have liked. What Ginny said wasn’t entirely true, of course; there was now a feather-like pattern on the apple’s skin.

“Are you sure that was the right spell?” Ginny asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Lily snapped again. “It’s supposed to turn into a bird, but I’m obviously so terrible that I can’t even get something so easy to work.”

“I’m sorry, Lily, I didn’t-“

“I know you didn’t mean anything, Ginny,” Lily said, trying to let the anger out of her voice. “Transfiguration is just hard for me, okay? I don’t like talking about it.”

“I’m sorry,” Ginny said, rolling out of her bed. She strode over to her mirror, trying to fix her hair up so it didn’t look quite so messy.

The sun had been up for a few hours now, and Lily had been spending the quiet time getting as much work done as she could. She intended to spend the whole day working, as a matter of fact, but it’d be easier while all the Weasley children were still sleeping. That was quickly changing; she was pretty sure she could hear some more thudding and booms coming from the room of a certain set of twins.

“Really, Ginny, it’s not you I’m mad at,” Lily said, feeling bad now. “I just- I need to practice some more, is all.”

“Do you want me to bring you up some breakfast?” Ginny asked, stretching in front of her mirror. Lily thought she still sounded a bit sour, but she decided to not bring any attention to it.

“No, I already ate,” Lily responded.

“When did you do that?”

“A few hours ago,” Lily said. “Your mum made breakfast for you dad before he left, but she didn’t expect anybody else to be up that early.”

“Dad’s already gone, then?” Ginny asked.

“Yeah, he said an emergency came up so he had to go in early.” He seemed to have an emergency to tend to almost every day. Lily might have found it suspicious, but she’d heard some of the Floo calls he’d received.

“Why did you get up so early?” Ginny asked, looking out the window. “It can’t be past 9, yet.”

“I just like to get up early, that’s all,” Lily said grumpily. Truth be told, she was trying to get back on her school schedule. She’d gotten used to Hermione getting her up early every day, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t have that advantage this year.

Hermione _still_ hadn’t returned any of her letters. She even borrowed Percy’s owl to send one after she became convinced Errol just kept losing them, and that had taken up every last favor she had accrued. Percy had _not_ wanted to give up his owl for even a single day. Lily didn’t know why he was so stingy about it; it’s not like he had anybody to write to.

“Do you want to play Quidditch later?” Ginny asked.

“I’ll pass,” Lily said, waving her hands at all her textbooks. She really needed to get through at least a few more chapters, or she’d never finish before school started; she only had a few days left.

“I’ll see you around, then,” Ginny said as she left the room. Lily thought she was still being rather terse, but she knew the girl would get over it soon. She couldn’t even give her brothers the silent treatment for long, and they annoyed her far more.

Lily managed to finish up the last half of her Transfiguration book fairly quickly; they used the first half last year. She also managed to get _Avifors_ working fairly consistently, once she wiped the rust off her brain. She decided that a reward was in order, and decided to work on a subject that was more fun. She had, unfortunately, already finished Charms, but there was still one more the was interested in, even if she didn’t care for the professor.

Lily cracked open her second year Potions book, then snatched up the advanced book she received for her birthday. She never figured out who sent it to her, but she didn’t think it mattered. She’d either find out later, or she never would. There were other things she was more concerned with.

It was full of _very_ useful information. They needed to use something called lynchseeds for a few potions, and the advanced tips book mentioned that lynchseeds were especially effective if sliced vertically instead of horizontally. The textbook directions all stated that they should only ever be sliced horizontally, so Lily corrected all of those instructions with the new method. She didn’t quite understand the explanation of _why_ , but she figured it was good to know anyway. If it didn’t work, she could always go back to the tried-and-true method.

Dinner was ready by the time Lily finished up the second chapter, and she went down eagerly. She ate a hurried meal, barely paying attention to the chatter and conversations around her, and then hurried back up to start on the next one.

Lily spent the rest of the weekend finishing up her Potions work. The margins were soon filled to the brim with notes and tips. Decided that an actual reward was in order, she decided to use the last bit of remaining time to learn at least _one_ new charm.

She had two books to pick from, aside from their normal textbook. She wouldn’t bother with that one; they’d be learning all the spells in class. She briefly considered the gift from Ron and Neville, but she couldn’t make sense of any of the instructions. The only easy ones were spells that required silent casting, and she already knew she’d never get those to work. She instead chose to focus on the gift she’d received from Hermione the previous Christmas.

Ginny walked in on her one afternoon as she attempted to magically enhance her eyeballs. Lily at least had the good grace to be embarrassed; it wasn’t a position one liked to be found in, what with the wand aimed directly at one’s eye socket. It was a miracle she didn’t poke the thing in her fright.

“What are you doing?” Ginny almost screeched, quickly shutting the door behind her.

“I’m trying out the Night Vision Charm,” Lily said, gesturing to her book. Her heart was still thumping from the intrusion, and she wished very dearly she had locked the door.”

“I thought you said you were terrible at Transfiguration,” Ginny said, pulling at her hair, “Why would you mess with your _eyes_?”

“It’s not Transfiguration,” Lily explained. “It’s a _charm_. It doesn’t actually do anything to the eyes, it just puts a magical layer over them that lets you see in the dark. It sounded easy enough.”

“If it’s so easy, then why doesn’t everybody use it?” Ginny asked, crossing her arms.

Lily blushed. “Well, the book _did_ mention that you could go blind if you run into a bright light while wearing it.”

“Is that why the room’s so dark?” Ginny asked, gesturing to the blanket Lily had thrown over the curtains.

“Yes,” Lily admitted. It blocked out the sun quite nicely, she though, even if the pattern was more flowery than she preferred. She didn’t want to use Ginny’s thicker one. She thought that’d be too rude.

“Why didn’t you lock the door, then?” Ginny asked, clicking the lock shut behind her to emphasize her point. “I came right in, you could have-“

“I don’t think the hallway light is enough to do it,” Lily interrupted. “That, and I didn’t think about it. I’m sorry.”

“Ron said Fred and George were tutoring you, did you learn nothing from them?”

“They weren’t very good teachers,” Lily grumbled. “They liked to make fun of me more than they did help me.” They still taught her a few things, of course, but Lily was pretty sure the map was more of an excuse to avoid her questions than it was a heartfelt gift.

“Well, you’ll have me this year,” Ginny said, sitting down next to Lily. “I’ll help you out.”

Lily snorted. “That’d be a great help, then I can catch up on my first-year material.”

“Way I hear it, you need to,” Ginny said. “Come on, show me the spell.”

“ _Aterlumen_ ,” Lily said, wand aimed straight at her face. A faint light emanated from the tip. Lily blinked her eyes on instinct and everything was _significantly_ brighter once they were opened back up. There also didn’t seem to be any color to anything, as if the world was suddenly black and white. Even Ginny’s normally vibrant hair was a sleek gray.

“Did it work?” Ginny asked, leaning forward as she the question left her lips. That made Lily smile slightly; Ginny was clearly getting used to Lily’s presence if she was acting this natural. There’d still been a bit of stiffness to all their conversations even just a few days ago.

“I think so,” Lily said, squinting around at her surroundings. Ginny looked torn between nervousness and excitement, but she seemed to perk up at the confirmation. Ginny had a tendency to shake her hands when she was happy, as if she wanted to clap but was too self-conscious to do so.

“How many fingers am I holding up,” Ginny asked.

“None,” Lily said, smirking. Ginny was just sitting there, not doing a thing. Lily glanced around the rest of the room, eyes locking onto the wardrobe. She could have sworn-

“What about-“ Ginny began before Lily’s gasp interrupted her.

“There!” She yelled out, pointing as she jumped up, wand swinging to face the corner.

“What, what is it?” Ginny said, looking about wildly, unable to see.

“The eyes, they were right there, in the corner,” Lily said, looking about wildly to find them again. She was _sure_ they had been there, right above Ginny’s wardrobe. Something was in there with them, watching them sit in the dark.

“I can’t see anything, Lily,” Ginny said in a high-pitched whine.

Lily pointed her wand at the younger girl. “ _Aterlumen._ ”

Ginny squinted, suddenly bombarded by visual stimuli. “I didn’t know it worked on others,” she said.

“I didn’t, either,” Lily admitted, scanning the room again. “Useful information, though.” She wondered how well it could be used in a fight in order to blind an opponent. Just cast that charm and follow it up with a bright flash. Seemed easy enough.

“I still don’t see anything,” Ginny said, standing up to check out the room. Lily investigated the opposite, leaving the window side to the younger girl.

“I _know_ it was here,” Lily said. “It’s been following me for a while now.”

“What are you talking about?” Ginny asked.

“When we played Quidditch,” Lily explained, “I saw two big, green eyes staring at me from the trees right before I was thrown off my broom.”

“I thought you just fell,” Ginny said.

“No, something stopped my broom. I saw it at Gran’s, too, the same day I broke my wand.” Lily bent over to check underneath the bed, but there was nothing.

“So, something’s been following you?”

“I think so,” Lily said, biting her lip. She threw the wardrobe open to check inside, but there was nothing there either. She considered emptying it out just to make sure, but she didn’t want to make a mess of Ginny’s things.

“And it’s in here right now?” She sounded a little more nervous now, Lily thought. She didn’t know if she could consider that a good thing, since she was now believed, or a bad thing, since she was scaring her new friend with all this crazy talk.

“It was,” Lily said. “I don’t know if it still is, it might have left when it realized I saw it.” That didn’t feel very reassuring, of course. Just the thought that this thing could have been watching them all summer made her _very_ uncomfortable.

“How would it get out, the door is locked?” Ginny said.

“I don’t-“ Lily started, head quickly turning towards the desk. Something moved underneath it. She squinted, making out green eyes and large, bat-like-

The thing snapped, long fingers making a cracking noise that filled the room.

There was a bright flash, and Lily screamed, grabbing at her eyes. She heard Ginny scream, as well, and knew she was doing the same.

“Ginny,” Lily called out, trying to feel around in the darkness.

“Mum!” Ginny screamed, frantic.

“Ginny, don’t-“

“Mum!” Ginny screamed again. Lily gave a loud shout herself in her panic; the last thing she wanted was for Mrs. Weasley to find out she’d been performing underaged magic, the thing that she was _explicitly_ told not to do.

There was the sound of somebody quickly running up the staircase, followed by pounding on the door. The door handle shook, followed by more pounding. Lily grasped around for her wand, but couldn’t find where she dropped it.

“Ginny, you have to unlock the door if you want me to come in,” Mrs. Weasley said from outside, sounding slightly peeved.

“I can’t see, mum,” Ginny said.

There was a click, followed by the found of the door opening. Lily thought she heard a huff, and she instinctively turned her head towards it. There was no light; only darkness remained.

“Why is it so dark in here?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

Lily bit her lip, still pawing around on all fours. She had no idea where her wand had gotten off to. She hoped that _thing_ didn’t take it. She didn’t think Ollivander would give her another.

“We can’t see,” Ginny said, still panicked.

“Of course not,” Mrs. Weasley said. Lily could hear her crossing the room, then pulling down the blanket from the window. “There, that’s much better.”

“Mum, I’m blind,” Ginny said.

“What do you mean, blind?” Mrs. Weasley asked, tone out of patience.

“Lily tried out a spell and now we can’t see,” Ginny said.

Lily bit her lip again, accepting that her death was coming. She’d seen the Weasley matriarch get mad at Fred and George before, and what she just did seemed _much_ worse in comparison. And, of course, her reaction would, in turn, pale in comparison to what Gran would do should _she_ find out.

“ _Tried out a spell?”_ Mrs. Weasley said, in a tone that she normally reserved just for the twins. Lily never realized how scary she had been before, but she felt her heart drop further than it ever had before.

“It was just-“ Lily tried.

“Don’t you start, young lady,” Mrs. Weasley began. “You’re not supposed to be using magic outside of school, and for good reason. Now look what you’ve gone and done, you’re both sitting here, completely blind, and I have no idea _how_ I’m going to fix it.”

“But it wasn’t me,” Lily got out, “it was-“

“What’s going on in here, then,” Lily heard one of the twins ask. She couldn’t tell them apart by voice, but they sounded _very_ interested. She could practically hear the wide grin on his face.

“Yeah, normally it’s _us_ that get all the lectures.” That would be the other twin, sounding equally as pleased.

“Lily’s gone and made the both of them _blind_ ,” Mrs. Weasley barked.

“Excellent,” one of the twins said.

“Lily, you’ll have to show us that one later, it’ll be-“

“You two, out, out!” Mrs. Weasley screeched. She heard the sounds of her physically booting the two out of the room. Then a hand was yanking on her ear.

“Ow! Stop!” Lily grunted, getting up from the floor, and letting Mrs. Weasley drag her. Her bare feet scraped against carpet, and soon she was being led down the stairs. She fanned out with her hands for the railing, desperately trying not to fall.

“Don’t you start,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Just you wait until Mrs. Longbottom hears about this.”

“Mrs. Weasley,” Lily said, finally starting to feel frantic. “Please, do whatever you wan, but please, _please_ don’t tell Gran, she won’t let me go back to Hogwarts if she-“

“She’ll have to hear,” Mrs. Weasley said, voice surprisingly full of sympathy. “I’ll have to bring the both of you to St. Mungo’s, I can’t fix this myself, and they’ll have to notify her before they do anything with you.”

Lily could feel tears coming on, and soon enough they were streaming down her face. That, at least, made Mrs. Weasley let go of her ear, and she soon felt herself thrown into a hug.

“You let me worry about Mrs. Longbottom, Lily,” she said gently, “I’ll make sure you get back to Hogwarts, safe and sound.

Lily sniffed, but couldn’t wipe at her eyes. She _wanted_ to believe Mrs. Weasley, but she didn’t see any way out of this one. Mrs. Weasley broke the hug after what felt like an eternity (although Lily gladly would have stood there forever), and this time she was pulled along gently by the hand.

“Mum,” Ginny said from nearby (Lily jumped at the sound of her voice; she didn’t realize the other girl was being dragged along as well). “Can’t we just-“

“We certainly can’t,” Mrs. Weasley interrupted. “Percy, let your father know through the Floo where we’re going after we go through, he’ll grab Augusta for us.”

“Yes, mum,” Percy said from Lily’s left. Her wandering hand briefly touched him as he passed. It felt like he was still wearing his pajamas.

“Now, listen, you two,” Mrs. Weasley said as she pulled them into the kitchen. “It was _Ginny_ that cast the spell, not Lily.”

“Will that help?” Ginny asked nervously.

“I don’t think Mrs. Longbottom will have any objections if she thinks it wasn’t Lily,” Mrs. Weasley said.

Lily bit her lip. “I didn’t-“

“No, you didn’t,” Mrs. Weasley agreed. “We should be able to pass it off as an accidental use of magic, I think. Arthur will have to do most of the convincing, he knows how it all works.”

“You won’t get in any trouble, will you?” Lily asked. The panic was starting to leave her body, but pure nervousness was taking its place.

Mrs. Weasley didn’t respond, and Lily took that for a bad sign. She could feel more tears coming on, but she wiped those away quickly. She hated feeling so pathetic, even if there was no helping it in this instant.

“You go first, Lily, we’ll be right behind you,” Mrs. Weasley said, taking Lily’s hand in hers and placing it gently into a pouch. Lily felt the familiar powder under her fingertips, and she grabbed a pinch of it. Mrs. Weasley helped her aim towards the fireplace, and she tossed it straight ahead, hearing a familiar _woosh_.

“St. Mungo’s, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, gently pushing Lily forward.

“St. Mungo’s,” Lily repeated, as she felt the cool brick and flames against her feet. There was another _woosh_ , a spinning sensation, and then she toppled out of the fireplace at the other end, unable to balance herself. There was another _woosh_ , and then the sound of Ginny falling nearby. A third _woosh_ , and then a gentle touch under her arm to tug her off the floor.

“Come on, you two,” Mrs. Weasley said, dragging them both forward again. Lily reached out with her free hand, trying to make sure she didn’t run into anything else while they moved forward. It sounded like they were in a crowded area, and she didn’t want to bump anyone.

Lily thought she heard Ginny sniffling nearby.

“Sorry, Gin,” she mumbled. She heard another sniff in response, and she hoped it was a positive one. She sniffed herself, feeling another wave of nervousness come over her.

“What bothers you?” she heard a gruff voice say.

“These two blinded themselves,” Mrs. Weasley said, tugging on Lily’s hand.

“Do you know what spell did it?”

“No,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“ _Aterlumen,”_ Lily said, immediately feeling a hard squeeze on her hand as if Mrs. Weasley was telling her to shut up. She took the point, and bit on her lip hard to keep another outburst from coming.

“Advanced charm for someone so young,” the gruff voice said.

“Ginny here is going into her first year,” Mrs. Weasley said in a sickly-sweet tone. “She must have gotten into one of her father’s books.”

“Over excited first year blinds themselves and a friend, we see it all the time. Augustus here will take the two of them, and we’ll call you once you can see them. In the meantime, I’ll need you to fill out these forms so we can begin treatment.”

“You two behave,” Mrs. Weasley said roughly as someone else began leading Lily off. This person had far rougher hands.

“Steps coming up, ladies,” a man’s voice said. Lily felt around, trying to find some sort of banister for the staircase. She stumbled when her foot collided with step, and let out a curse as her knee hit the stone. Lily never missed shoes so much in her life; the floor was cold and made her cringe with every step.

“Easy, there,” the voice said, lifting her up to her feet. He placed Lily’s hand onto the banister for her. “We’ll be heading up to the second floor, and into your room from there.”

“Great,” Lily said, replacing some of her panic with frustration. Her knee _really_ hurt now.

Ginny sniffed from nearby, and Lily started feeling bad again.

The Healer lead Ginny and Lily up the stairs, turning left, and then down a hallway. Lily started feeling nervous again. There was something absolutely terrifying about not being able to see where you were going. The man made another turn, and soon enough Lily’s hand was placed firmly on what felt like a mattress. That made her feel a lot better.

“Healer Matilda will be in shortly,” the man said. “She’ll bring a change of clothes for the both of you, as well as the first set of potions, assuming your mother has finished filling out those forms.”

“Potions?” Ginny asked, voice sounding fearful.

“ _First set?”_ Lily groaned.

“Healing blindness isn’t easy, it takes a few days and dozens of potions. The human eye is complicated, it can’t be fixed with just a quick spell. You should be fine on the first.”

“The first?” Lily repeated. “But term starts-“

“You will be able to board the train on time, you’ll be dismissed the morning of. I’ll be going now, Matilda will be getting everything ready. She’ll be in in just a moment.”

Lily heard the door click shut before she could argue any further.

“This is your fault,” Ginny said, sniffing again.

“I know,” Lily admitted. “I’m sorry.”

“Why’d you have to go and cast it on me, too?”

“I needed your help,” Lily said. “I couldn’t find the-“

“ _There was nothing there_ ,” Ginny said too loudly.

“Then what made that light?” Lily said, matching Ginny’s angry tone.

Silence hung in the air. Lily could practically hear the gears turning in Ginny’s head.

Before she could finish forming that thought, another Healer came in, and soon Ginny and Lily were both changed into hospital gowns and laying on their respective beds. The first potion had been absolutely _foul,_ and Lily received no answers at all as to what was in it. It had simply been forced down her throat.

Lily laid in bed for what seemed like an hour, stewing in her own thoughts. She occasionally heard a sniff coming from Ginny, but she felt too bad to say anything. She didn’t want to make it any worse.

Finally, the unbearable waiting came to an end, and the door opened once more. Lily perked up, expecting the relieving voice of Mrs. Weasley to fill the room.

“What have you done now, Lily?’ Gran’s voice croaked.

Lily’s heart sank. “I didn’t do-“

“Don’t answer that, I’ve already heard it all from Mrs. Weasley.” Lily heard a chair move next to her. “Ginny, dear, your parents will be in to see you soon. I sent them down to Gringotts with a money order to pay for your treatment.”

“I-“ Lily stammered.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s on your account,” Gran grumbled. “Now, do you want to tell me what in Merlin’s name you thought you were doing?”

“I was just-“

“Trying out a new spell on your friend, hmm?”

“No, I-“

“Didn’t think it would go wrong, hmm?”

“Would you let me talk?” Lily snapped. “I can’t answer if you-“

“Watch your tone, young lady, you’re in enough trouble as it is.”

“It wasn’t Lily,” Ginny said from across the room. “It was me, I-“

“Oh, save it. That fib might have fooled the Healers, but it certainly didn’t fool me. I doubt it will fool the Ministry, either, although with Fudge in charge it just might.” Gran snorted.

“It wasn’t that I messed up the spell, Gran, it worked,” Lily explained. “But the thing that’s been following me, it-“

“What thing?” Gran snapped.

“The green eyes, remember, I asked you about them and you said-”

“I remember a vague conversation about eyes,” Gran said. “I thought we settled on it being the cat.”

“No, I told you, it can’t be Weasley, he’s too small and his eyes are-“

“So somethings been following you, then, and it made you blind, did it?”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to-“

“And did you see this thing, Ginny?” Gran asked.

“No,” Ginny admitted. “But-“

“I have to say, Lily, this is the worst story you’ve come up with so far,” Gran said, sounding disappointed.

“I’m not making it up, there was-“

“There’s nothing after you, Lily,” Gran said, sighing. “Whatever am I going to do with you?”

“Ask Ron,” Lily said quickly. “He knows about it, he’ll-“

“Yes, I’m sure your friend will cover for you,” Gran interrupted. “Nothing is after you, Lily, you have to understand that.”

“But I saw-“

“Enough!” Gran shouted, rising from her chair. “I have had it up to here with your behavior, Lily. I’ve tried to go easy on you, I know you’ve had it rough, but enough is enough. You can’t keep doing these things and keep expecting to get away with it.”

“I’m not-“

“Enough, Lily,” Gran snapped. “I’ll be writing to Dumbledore. Clearly, Hogwarts isn’t good for you. I had hoped you’d change your behavior over the summer, but you’ve only behaved worse. You were fine last year, so I can only assume it’s the Hogwarts staff giving you too much freedom.”

“Gran, please, I-“

“I’ll have to find a new school for you, of course. Neville will have to stay at Hogwarts, his grades aren’t high enough to get in anywhere else, but you should be able to get in anywhere, so long as you behave yourself. A stricter school would do you well.” The chair rubbed against the floor again, and Lily heard footsteps.

“Gran, I-“

“It’ll be a late entry,” Gran said from much further away, “but nobody would say no to Hazel Potter. Sorry to leave so quickly, but I’ll have to get a move on, not much time left to get everything organized. We’ll talk about it again next summer. If you’re better, you can go back to Hogwarts.”

Lily heard the door click open.

“No,” Lily said firmly.

“No?’ Gran repeated.

“No,” Lily repeated. “I’m not coming back next summer.”

“And what makes you think-“

“I’m not coming back,” Lily said, feeling angrier than she had ever been before. “You never listen to me, you never believe me.”

“Lily, now is not the-“

“Dumbledore said I could choose,” Lily shouted.

“You can’t-“

“I have the choice,” Lily said, “and I’m not choosing you anymore. I’ll ask Dumbledore to find someone else.”

There was a moment of silence. Lily could feel the tension in the air, so thick you’d be able to slice through it with teaspoon. She heard Ginny sniff again from across the room.  
“Fine, then,” Gran snapped at last. “I see all I’ve done for you isn’t worth spit. I’ll just leave you alone, then.”

Lily suddenly felt bad. “Wait, I-“

“Goodbye, Lily,” Gran said, slamming the door behind her. An awkward silence now hung in the air, and Lily’s sightless eyes were stinging. She wiped at them with the back of her hand, but it didn’t help.

“You shouldn’t have-“

“I don’t want to hear it, Ginny,” Lily snapped, turning away from the other girl. She didn’t want Ginny to see that she was crying. She tried to keep it as quiet as she could, but she knew some of it must have leaked out.


	9. Blindsided

The door clicked open an hour later, long after Lily succeeded in calming herself down. Lily turned her head on instinct to follow the noise, forgetting for a moment that she couldn’t see.

“Gran?” she asked, wondering if the old lady had returned to apologize.

“Has she not come yet?” the voice of Mrs. Weasley called out. “Surely she must have, she was here an hour ago.”

“She left,” Lily muttered. She didn’t know if anybody could quite catch it, though. She could barely hear it herself.

“Mum,” Ginny spoke up, “She was here, she-“

“Left early,” Lily interrupted.

“Yes, but she-“

“Said she had something important to do,” Lily interrupted once more. She’d shoot a glare, but she knew the other girl wouldn’t see it.

“More important than making sure you lot were okay?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“We’re fine,” Lily grumbled.

“Yes, I suppose you are,” Mrs. Weasley said from near Ginny’s side of the room. “Your father had to get back to work, Ginny, but he said he’ll make sure to drop by tomorrow during lunch.”

“Mum,” Lily heard Ginny whisper, “Mrs. Longbottom, she-“

“Yelled at us both and then left,” Lily said loudly, hoping that this time Ginny would finally get the point.

“Yes, I’m sure she did,” Mrs. Weasley said sternly. “If it wasn’t for that, I’d be doing much of the same right now. But as it is, I think you’ve both had enough for one day.”

“Thanks,” Lily said before Ginny could get another word in.

“Well, I hate to leave so quickly, dears,” Mrs. Weasley said, voice travelling back across the room, “But I’m afraid if I don’t get back home soon, Fred and George will have burned the house down.”

“You’re leaving?” Ginny said nervously.

“Sorry, Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley said in an apologetic tone. “I’ll stay longer tomorrow, I’ll even bring the boys with me. How about that?”

“Okay,” Ginny said after a few moments, still sounding nervous.

“I’ll even see if I can bring the cat, although I don’t think they’ll allow that,” Mrs. Weasley said from near the doorway. “I suppose Mrs. Longbottom will be back tomorrow, as well.”

“She won’t,” Lily mumbled.

“What was that, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Nothing,” Lily answered.

“You two be good,” Mrs. Weasley said in her stern voice again. “I don’t want to hear any bad reports from the Healers.”

“Mum!” Ginny called out once again.

“Yes, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked in a far more gentle tone.

“Mrs. Longbottom, she-“

“Left her regards,” Lily interrupted rudely.

“I’ll send her my thanks, then,” Mrs. Weasley said as the door clicked shut behind her.

“What is wrong with you?” Ginny called out.

Lily chose not to answer that question.

“Why didn’t you tell her? She could have helped!”

“She doesn’t need to,” Lily said hotly. “It’s my fault, I’ll fix it.”

“Lily, where are you going to go?”

“I don’t know, I’ll figure that out later,” Lily replied.

“Just come stay with us, you know mum and dad will-“

“No,” Lily said, “I can’t, I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You _won’t_ be a bother,” Ginny said, tone fed up, “They’d love to-“

“I know,” Lily said. “I know, Ginny. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”

“But-“

“I’m not talking about it,” Lily said.

“Why are you being this way?” Ginny grumbled.

“I don’t know,” Lily grumbled back. Lily _did_ have a reason, but she kept pushing it into the back of her mind, not wanting to think about it.

Ginny didn’t talk to Lily the rest of the day, even during the few times they were interrupted by another potion to drink. They were only slightly better tasting than the first one; at least these ones didn’t make her gag in response.

Lily woke up before Ginny the next day, or, at least, she assumed she did. Everything around her was still black, but she thought she could make out the distant, soft snores of her companion. Lily briefly wondered if she’d had any nightmares. Her throat felt rather dry, but she could also assume that was from the lack of water; her last drink was over a day ago.

Now she couldn’t help but wonder if St. Mungo’s was anything like the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. Madame Pomfrey always liked to keep a glass of fresh, cool water at every bedside. She reached out with her hand, trying to find anything like a table. Nobody ever mentioned one, so she wasn’t sure if it even existed.

Her hand bumped something cold and then a second later the sound of shattering glass filled the room. She heard Ginny awake with a start.

“Wazzat?” she said sleepily.

“I knocked over a glass,” Lily said grumpily.

“How did you-“ Ginny groaned out.

A knock on the door interrupted her. The knob clicked.

“Everything alright in here, girls?” a female voice said.

“I knocked over a glass,” Lily repeated grumpily.

The Healer let out a groan of their own. “I told them leaving a glass next to a couple of blind girls was a bad idea, but no, nobody ever listens to me, do they? I’ll get that cleaned up in just a second, girls, don’t you worry, and then we’ll get you started on your next potion.”

At that, it was Lily’s turn to groan.

Ginny was back to ignoring Lily soon after, despite any attempt she made to mend the gap. The silence was making her rather uncomfortable, especially since she had no vision. Lily could only fill the time by sitting there, staring at the void of blackness, listening to footsteps and chatter in the hallway nearby.

Finally, around lunch, the door swung open once more, and the room was full of conversation.

“You two getting along, then?” Mrs. Weasley asked sweetly.

Neither girl answered that question.

“You alright, Lily?” Ron’s voice came from next to her. She heard a chair move, and she assumed he was sitting nearby. That made her feel a bit better; she could hear everybody else heading over towards Ginny. She couldn’t hear the twins at all, strangely enough.

There was somebody else missing too.

“Where’s Neville?” she asked, looking around despite being blind.

“Err-“ Ron stuttered. He didn’t continue, but the silence did.

“Where’s Neville?” Lily asked again.

“Gone,” Ron muttered. “His Gran came by yesterday and took him home.”

“Why would she-“ Lily started before coming up with the solution herself. She let the conversation lapse back into silence.

“She didn’t have to make him leave,” Lily said after a long silence.

“I know,” Ron said. “We all tried to convince her, but she wasn’t hearing it. She was lucky she left right before mum got back.”

Lily bit her lip, trying to think of what else to say.

“I never noticed you do that,” Ron said.

“Do what?” Lily asked.

“That lip thing,” Ron said. “Hermione did that, too.”

“You noticed her, but not me?” Lily asked sharply.

“I was always focused on other things,” Ron said.

Lily bit her lip again as she considered asking the question again. She wasn’t sure if she wanted Ron to know if he didn’t already.

“Did she say why?” she asked, making up her mind. He’d find out soon enough, anyway., if he didn’t already know. She wouldn’t be able to keep it secret forever, although she’d try for as long as she could.

Ron was silent for a moment.

“No,” he said at least, dropping his voice to a whisper, “but it was something you said, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Lily answered.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ron asked after another long pause.

“No,” Lily answered again.

“Mum made me pack your trunk for you,” Ron said as a change of subject. “That way you wouldn’t have to rush the day of. Oh, and before I forget, mum made a toy for Weasley, so I stuck it in his cage for you.”

“Did you find my wand?” Lily asked.

“Didn’t know you lost it,” Ron admitted. “How’d you do that?”

“Dropped it when we were blinded,” Lily said sheepishly.

“About that,” Ron said, dropping his voice to a whisper again, “How did that happen? Mum told us Ginny messed up a spell, but none of us believed her.”

“That’s just what she wants us to tell people so I don’t get in trouble,” Lily said in a whisper of her own. “It was me, but I didn’t mess it up. I found a charm for seeing in the dark, and I cast it on the both of us, but those green eyes showed up again, and then there was flash of light, and now here we are.”

“Did you at least see what it was?” Ron asked. _Bless him_ , Lily thought. At least she could count on his support, if nothing else.

“I saw big ears,” Lily said, “Then it snapped its finger before I could get a better look, and that was it.”

“Big ears,” Ron repeated. She could hear him leaning back in his chair.

“Say, where are Fred and George?” Lily asked. She would have heard them by now if they had come, surely.

“Home,” Ron answered. “Didn’t have enough Floo Powder for all of us. Mum said we’ll go to Diagon to get some more after we leave here.”

“Sorry,” Lily apologized, feeling sorry for herself again.

“What are you apologizing for?” Ron asked. “Not your fault, is it? We’ll find out what’s following you sooner or later.”

“Thanks, Ron,” Lily said, feeling much better after the reassurance. She just wished Neville was here so he could hear more, as well. At the very least, she knew he’d listen to her once they were on the train. “I thought your mum didn’t want them home alone.”

“She didn’t,” Ron confirmed, “but dad took their brooms to work with him, and they won’t get them back unless the house is still in the same condition.”

Lily thought they’d probably still get them back, even if they completely ignored the threat. She hoped the twins wouldn’t figure that out, too.

“Say, listen,” Ron said. She could hear him leaning forward. “While I was packing your trunk, I found a wad of paper wrapped up in the invisibility cloak. What’s that about?”

Lily could feel her face flush. “It’s a secret,” she said.

“Come on, Lily,” Ron said, “Now you _have_ to tell me.”

“Maybe later,” Lily said. “I have to-“

Lily was interrupted by the door to their room opening once more.

“Good morning, Weasleys!” Mr. Weasley said.

“Dad!” Ginny shouted from across the room. Lily could hear him walk across the room towards his daughter, even if she couldn’t see it. She also heard Ron get up and leave, but she knew he’d be back later. It was family time now. She understood.

Lily sat alone for what felt like hours, listening to Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Ron, Mr. Weasley, and Ginny have a _lovely_ conversation. She only knew it couldn’t have been that long because they were due another potion at noon.

Right on cue, she heard the door open, followed by the sound of a rolling cart.

“Time for the next potion, girls,” yet another different voice said. Lily wished they’d stick to one Healer, so that she could at least recognize _somebody_. This potion was the foulest so far, and Lily still couldn’t get a straight answer about what any of them were made of.

Mr. Weasley left an hour later, needing to head back to work. Ron finally came back to her side of the room once he did, so Lily was now _far_ less bored.

Lily spent the afternoon trying to play exploding snap with Ron on her bed. She could, unfortunately, not see the cards, and therefore had to rely on Ron telling her what each card was. She felt like she was getting burnt a _lot_ more than Ron was, though, so she certainly hoped he wasn’t cheating.

Mrs. Weasley gave both the girls a kiss on the cheek before they left at the day’s end (an action that most definitely made Lily’s face grow red). They left a little before visiting hours were over, since they needed to stop in Diagon Alley before heading home.

Ginny seemed to be appeased by her family visiting, and she was no longer _quite_ as grumpy with Lily. At the very least, she was answering most of Lily’s questions and conversation topics. That did a lot to cure the loneliness and dread that was still lingering in Lily’s heart.

The twins came with the rest of the family to visit the next day, although Mr. Weasley never made an appearance. Fred put something on Lily’s head that felt vaguely like some sort of crown made of paper. She could hear Ron sniggering at it occasionally, but she didn’t think it was anything bad. Mrs. Weasley surely would have taken it off if it had.

She didn’t get to _keep_ the crown, unfortunately. The Healers discarded it before bed, although they claimed it was an accident. Lily hoped the twins wouldn’t ask about it tomorrow before they boarded the train.

Lily woke up with a gasp in the middle of the night. Her scar was tingling, and she ran her fingers over it to calm herself down; it had been months since the last time it felt weird. The last time would have been-

_No_ , Lily thought, trying to push the memory out of her mind. She wouldn’t think about it right now, not when she’d rather be sleeping. She gave herself a quick smack on the forehead, trying to push it further back into her brain.

She rubbed at her eyes, trying to get rid of the fuzziness. Her vision was almost back, and the Healers promised it’d be completely normal by the time they boarded the train tomorrow morning, although they might still be foggy before then.

Lily rolled over, trying to go back to sleep, but she had an eerie feeling in her tummy. It felt an awful lot like she was in danger, even though she was perfectly safe in the hospital. Her scar was still tingling as well, but she didn’t know if that could actually be taken as a sign. She thought was just a sign of overall stress; it felt off at least once everyday since her sixth day with the Weasleys.

Lily started to doze off when she was startled back into alertness by a loud _crack_. She sat up in a hurry, eyes flying open. Her scar still hurt, but it wasn’t getting any worse.

She squinted around at her surroundings, trying to figure out what was wrong. She could hear Ginny roll over in her sleep, but she didn’t seem to be awake. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary in her limited field of vision.

Lily leaned back into her pillow, trying to get comfortable again. She closed her eyes, deciding it must have been her imagination after all, even if her thumping heart didn’t quite believe it.

“Hello,” a high voice said.

Lily jumped up, reaching around for her wand. She slipped off the mattress, barely catching herself before falling to the ground. Only then did she remember her wand was still at the Burrow.

Lilt tossed herself fully back onto the mattress. She took a wild look around, squinting to find the speaker. She thought she could make out some sort of figure standing at the foot of her bed. It was no wonder she’d missed it before; it was very small.

It’s head barely poked over into her view. She might not have noticed it at all, if it wasn’t for the large ears wiggling as it moved. That triggered some sort of feeling in the back of her head; it seemed very familiar, but her mind was too afraid to come up with the answer.

“Who are you?” Lily asked in a voice that betrayed her confidence. She gripped onto the sheets to steady her hands, so at least that could remain hidden. She suddenly felt _very_ cold.

“Dobby did not mean to scare you, Hazel Potter,” the voice said in the same high tone. Lily relaxed ever so slightly; it _did_ sound genuinely apologetic.

“What are you doing in my room?” Lily asked loudly, trying to wake Ginny from across the room. Ginny was, unfortunately, proving how sound of a sleeper she was; Lily didn’t hear so much as a grumble from her roommate.

“Dobby came to warn you, Hazel Potter,” Dobby said. “Dobby is out of time, and must warn Hazel Potter that she can not return to Hogwarts.”

“We go back tomorrow,” Lily said. Her mind was racing very quickly, trying to think of some way to fight off this creature should it lunge at her.

“Dobby knows this,” Dobby said. “Dobby was out of options. He thought that, with your stay here, you might not make the train on time, but now Dobby must say something, or Hazel Potter will return to Hogwarts and into danger.”

“Why shouldn’t I go back?” Lily asked. She tried to settle down; she couldn’t find any weapon, so there was no point in trying anything else. She didn’t know what this thing was capable of if it could just appear in her room.

“Hogwarts is not safe, Hazel Potter. Awful things will happen this year, and Hazel Potter must not be there to witness them.” Dobby was now further away, his voice coming from somewhere to Lily’s left.  
Lily frowned, squinting around the room again. She lost track of the figure; her foggy vision only reached a few feet away. “What’s going to happen, Dobby?”

“Dobby cannot say,” Dobby said from further away. “Dobby cannot speak ill of his masters.”

“Your masters? Who do you work for, Dobby?”

Lily heard a gasp, followed quickly by a series of thuds. She was briefly worried that the noise would wake Ginny, before remembering that was exactly what she _wanted_ to happen.

“Bad Dobby, bad Dobby,” Dobby said in between the rhythmic beatings and grunts of pain.

“What are you doing?” Lily said, trying to figure out what was going on. She still felt bad for the thing, even if she was absolutely terrified of it.

“Dobby almost spoke ill,” Dobby said after a long minute of hurting himself. “Dobby had to punish himself.”

“Why?” Lily asked.

“Dobby cannot speak ill of those he serves, Hazel Potter. Dobby almost spoke ill of his master, and so-”

“Dobby, nevermind that,” Lily interrupted, not quite caring about the creature’s plight anymore, “what’s going to happen at Hogwarts?”

“ _Dobby cannot say_ ,” Dobby repeated with emphasis.

“Then what’s the point of you coming here?” Lily said, huffing as she leaned back into her pillow again. Her fear was starting to go away, replaced by frustration.

“Hazel Potter is a hero, even to use house elves. Before Hazel Potter defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, us house elves were treated like dirt. Of course, Dobby is _still_ treated like dirt.” Dobby choked up on the last sentence, and Lily soon heard him crying loudly. That made her feel bad again, even if she didn’t have the slightest clue of what a house elf was.

“Dobby, I can’t do anything to stop it if you can’t-“

“Oh, no,” Dobby interrupted, “There is nothing Hazel Potter can do to stop it. It is already happening as Dobby speaks to you. The only thing Hazel Potter can do is _not return to Hogwarts_. Hazel Potter would be in grave danger if she did.”

“I have to go back, Dobby, it’s my home,” Lily said.

“Hazel Potter is safer with her new family,” Dobby said. “Hazel Potter must stay with them.”

“I don’t have a family,” Lily whispered to herself.

“If Hazel Potter returns to Hogwarts, there will no longer be any way for Dobby to help her.” Lily flinched as Dobby came back into her view. She squinted at him, noticing his ears were rather bat like, and his eyes were big and green.

Lily was starting to get angry as she put the pieces together, all sympathy for the thing leaving her body. “And what have you even done for me before now?”

“Dobby has been trying to help Hazel Potter all summer,” Dobby repeated, fiddling with the edge of the dirty sack he was wearing. “Every opportunity Dobby had to sneak out of the house, Dobby took, even if he had to punish himself for it afterwards.”

“You’ve been watching me all summer?” Lily practically shouted, already knowing the answer.

Dobby hesitated, hang wringing the sack faster as he refused to meet Lily’s eyes. “Yes,” he replied at last.

“Were you the one who tried to throw me off my broom?”

“Yes,” Dobby replied anxiously, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

“Did you trip me while I was going down the stairs?”

“Yes,” Dobby answered.

“Is that how I broke my wand?”

“Yes,” Dobby said, starting to sniff. He blew his nose on his sack, and Lily felt more disgust.

“ _Were you the one who blinded us?_ ”

“It was for Hazel Potter’s own good,” Dobby replied, mustering his confidence back. “ _Hazel Potter must not return to Hogwarts._ ”

“Dobby,” Lily replied coldly, “You’re lucky I don’t have my wand, or I’d-“

“Dobby is used to punishment from wizards, Hazel Potter,” Dobby interrupted sadly, “But Dobby would gladly accept yours, so long as you were safe.”

“I’m going back, Dobby,” Lily said determinedly, “And that’s that.”

“Dobby was afraid of this. Dobby will do what he can to make sure you stay safe, although he cannot promise much.” Dobby bowed deeply, his head disappearing from Lily’s view.

“Goobye, Hazel Potter,” he said as he came back up.

“Just-“ Lily started

She was interrupted by a loud crack as Dobby snapped his long fingers. Lily blinked in surprise, and Dobby was gone from the room.

“Whazzat?” Ginny said from across the room, suddenly waking up from her deep sleep.

“Dobby?” Lily called out.

“Dobby?” Ginny repeated sleepily.

Lily didn’t respond, she was trying to process all this new information. Ginny was back to snoring softly soon after.

Lily didn’t sleep another wink that night. She was thinking too much about what Dobby had told her. The only thing about her stressful night that she got any enjoyment from was the gradual restoration of her eyesight; as the hours wore on, things got clear enough for her to tell the difference between objects (so long as she was squinting).

Their hospital room was rather white, but there was a colorful bouquet of flowers on both of their bedside tables. There was also some reading material, which Lily took offence to.

Lily didn’t get a chance to tell Ginny about the night’s events. The Healers arrived to deliver their last potion before she could. At the very least, this one actually tasted halfway decent. It was closely reminiscent of oranges, and Lily rather liked orange juice. She thought it was criminal that wizards didn’t drink the stuff.

“I had a strange dream last night,” Ginny said when they were alone. The Healers duties were done, and they were left to change clothes while they waited for the Weasleys to come pick them up.

“Yeah?” Lily asked, pulling on her skirt. She tucker her shirt in, then threw her school robe over it. Her vest was way too warm in the summer heat, even inside the building. She would have preferred normal robes, but that was what Mrs. Weasley had brought the two of them to wear. She left the red and gold tie in her pocket, though; she wouldn’t need that until the feast.

“I thought I heard you shouting for someone named ‘Dobby,’” Ginny said.

“That wasn’t a dream,” Lily admitted as she pulled on her boots. They reached up to her midthigh, while her black socks went further up. She wished she’d ignored Gran about buying trousers; the old woman had insisted on the skirt.

“What was it, then?” Ginny asked.

“It was-“ Lily started.

“Good morning, girls,” Mr. Weasley said, bursting into the room. Lily had to squint still to make out the finer details, but she felt extremely happy to see the balding, rotund man.

“What was it?” Ginny asked, ignoring her father.

“I’ll tell you later,” Lily said quickly, throwing the Weasley patriarch into a hug. “Good morning, Mr. Weasley.”

“Well at least somebody is happy to see me,” Ms. Weasley said with a smile. He returned the hug warmly. Lily always got the feeling that neither parent was hugged by their children nearly as much as they would like.

“Where are the others, dad?” Ginny asked. Lily took a look around, realizing that Mr. Weasley was their only visitor.

“Back at the house. Molly is trying to get them all moving so we won’t be late.”

“They didn’t want to come see us off?” Lily asked. She had to admit she was a little disappointed, even if they _had_ come to visit the previous day.

“They’ll see you soon enough,” Mr. Weasley said, holding the door open for the two girls. Lily took the lead, enjoying the chance to see what the hospital actually looked like.

Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch as they walked down the sterile, white hallways. There were at least paintings on the wall, although Lily didn’t know if she like them. They kept shouting at them all, trying to convince them of various diseases they must assuredly be afflicted with.

One in particular was absolutely sure Mr. Weasley and his “daughters” were assuredly afflicted with Spattergroit, due to the freckles on their cheeks. He went silent when Lily pointed out that she didn’t _have_ freckles, of course, and they were allowed to continue on their way.

Mr. Weasley kept checking his pocketwatch as they made their way down the stairs, and that seemed to make Ginny feel nervous.

“Do we have time to pack?” she asked.

“No,” Mr. Weasley said with a joyful tone. “Molly packed all your things for you, though, so you won’t need to.”

“Ron said he packed mine,” Lily said in an equally cheerily tone.

“That he did,” Mr. Weasley confirmed, checking his watch again. “I’m afraid we must hurry, girls, there simply isn’t enough time.”

“How are we-“ Lily started.

Mr. Weasley grabbed both girls by their shoulders, herding them quickly down the last flight of stairs. Lily slipped on the very last step, landing firmly on her rear. She wasn’t hurt, but her pride sure was. At least Mr. Weasley helped her up on her feet; Ginny just laughed.

“How are we getting home?” Ginny asked as Lily brushed herself off, finishing the thought Lily had tried to voice earlier.

“Same way you got here, we’ll use the Floo,” Mr. Weasley answered.

“I hate Floo,” Lily grumbled, rubbing her tailbone.

“You’ll get used to it,” Mr. Weasley said. “You’ll have to use it until you learn to apparate.”

“McGonagall took me with her when she did it,” Lily said.

“I don’t like taking side-alongs,” Mr. Weasley said. “There’s too much that could go wrong.”

“I didn’t know it _could_ go wrong,” Lily said, suddenly worried. They reached a large hall with fireplace after fireplace lining the walls. People were moving in and out, the ones leaving looking happy and healthy, the ones coming in afflicted with various injuries and maladies. Lily avoided one especially nasty looking woman who had large, dripping sores covering her neck and face.

“Go on, Lily, you first,” Mr. Weasley said, pushing Lily towards the first empty fireplace. She stepped forward nervously, noticing a pot of Floo Powder sitting on the mantle.

Lily bit her lip, grabbing a pinch of powder. She tossed it into the fireplace, then took a deep breath, making sure to hold it as she stepped inside.

“The Burrow,” she said, hoping that was the right keyword. She really should have asked first.

There was a pinch in her stomach, a loud _woosh_ , and a sickening spinning sensation. Then she was thrown out of the chimney, barely keeping her balance, as she emerged in the living room, Mrs. Weasley staring at her sternly.

“You need to work on your landing,” Mrs. Weasley said, “you’ve tracked soot all over the carpet.”

“Sorry about that,” Lily said, trying to brush off her robes, wondering why on earth they even had carpet in front of the bloody fireplace.

“Nevermind that now, dear, go eat your breakfast quickly, we don’t have much time,” Mrs. Weasley said, pushing Lily into the kitchen. There were two plates set up on the table, one piled with significantly more food than the other. Lily assumed that was hers, and sat down to get to work.

“George!” Mrs. Weasley yelled upstairs. “You left your Potions book down here, come grab it this instant!”

Lily heard running down the stairs, followed by a rushed “thank you,” and more running up the stairs.

“Honestly,” Mrs. Weasley said, “does it have to be this way every year?”

“Ron didn’t forget any of my things, did he?” Lily asked, halfway done with her food.

“No, I don’t think so,” Mrs. Weasley said as she returned, herding Ginny into the kitchen and sitting her down across from Lily. “Best go doublecheck, though, I forgot to myself.”

Lily finished off her breakfast, muttered a thanks, and then hurried upstairs.

“Welcome back,” Ron said as he pushed past on his way downstairs. “Have you seen Scabbers?”

“I just got here, Ron,” Lily replied, pushing into Ginny’s room. Her trunk was laying on the ground, firmly locked. She threw it open, giving it a quick look over. It all _seemed_ in order. All of her books were there, and she could tell from the empty closet that all her robes had made it in as well. She had to squint, of course; her vision was still fuzzy, and was supposed to be for another hour.

She locked the trunk again, then scooped up Weasley’s cage, placing it gently on top. She peered in, seeing red and nodding to herself in content. She’d let him out to play later. Then she wheeled both trunk and cage out of the room and down the stairs. Ron pushed past as she came down, holding Scabbers in his hands.

“Found him in the kitchen,” he explained as he hurried past. “Your wand is with dad, I gave it to him.”

Mr. Weasley took Lily’s things as she came down the stairs, exchanging them for Lily’s wand. Lily tucked the lightly covered instrument into her robes, patting it in content. It felt good to have it at her side once more.

“Got to get them in the car,” he said, hurrying outside as he lugged the heavy trunk behind him.

Lily followed him out, skipping to keep up. “What kind of car?”

“I don’t know the models,” he said. “But it’s labelled as a ‘Ford Anglia,’ whatever that means.”

Lily nodded as if she understood. She _also_ had no idea what all the different models were. Uncle Vernon hadn’t let her be interested; he thought cars were only for boys. Aunt Petunia was rarely allowed behind the wheel of his own. She could only remember it happening three times total. Once when Dudley needed to go to the hospital, once when Vernon did, and once when Vernon was trying to fool Lily into getting captured.

The Ford Anglia, as it turned out, was a bright blue and most _definitely_ resembled a vehicle. That much, at least, even Lily could figure out.

Mr. Weasley threw her things in the trunk, and Lily couldn’t help but notice how spacious the whole thing was. It could easily fit not only her trunk but multiple dead bodies as well. _Where did that thought come from?_ Lily thought to herself, blushing from embarrassment even though she had absolutely no reason to do so.

“I might have made a few adjustments,” Mr. Weasley said. “Don’t tell Molly, she thinks it’s all quite normal.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Lily said, “But I get to sit in the front.”

“You’ll have to share with Ginny, then,” Mr. Weasley said. Lily started moving around the car, making for the front seat, when Mr. Weasley grabbed her by the arm.

“Before you go,” Mr. Weasley muttered, “I think this is a good opportunity for a chat.”

Lily paled. “Chat?” she repeated.

Mr. Weasley released her arm and gave a reassuring smile. “Sorry about that, didn’t mean to scare you. I just figured, since there’s no one else out here right now, it’d be a good time to talk about your lodging situation.”

“My lodging- oh,” Lily said, blushing as she looked down at her feet. She didn’t think anybody else knew yet. “Did Ginny mention something?”

“Not at all,” Mr. Weasley said, “I figured it out on your own. Augusta walked up to your room, absolutely fuming, and then storms off with Neville without so much as a word to either of us? Doesn’t visit you in the hospital again?”

“Don’t tell Mrs. Weasley,” Lily mumbled.

“She already knows,” Mr. Weasley admitted. “We had a talk about it that first night.”

“I-“ Lily started, pausing to swallow the lump that was rising in her throat. “I don’t know what- what to do.”

“You can always-“ Mr. Weasley started.

“I- I don’t want to impose,” Lily said, starting to cry despite her efforts to hold it in. “Gran said- she said- you can’t-“

“You won’t be imposing,” Mr. Weasley said, pulling Lily into a hug so she could let it out into his chest. “And you let us worry about the money. We’ve always managed.”

“But- but-“ Lily stammered.

“Just think about it, at least,” Mr. Weasley said, still holding her. “We’ve already written to Dumbledore, he said he’d have a meeting with you soon. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. But you’ll always be welcome here. I just wanted you to know that.”

“I-“ Lily said, wiping at her face as Mr. Weasley let her go. “I-“

“Best get in the front seat,” Mr. Weasley said, nudging her forward, “I can hear Fred and George coming, you don’t want them taking it from you. I’ll keep the others away as long as I can.”

Lily nodded as she rubbed at her eyes again. She sniffed as she got into the car, trying to impose herself. She heard Mr. Weasley tossing the trunks into the trunk of the car, and her head instinctively turned towards the sound.

The inside was _very_ roomy. It could easily fit the entire Weasley family comfortably, with plenty of leg room to spare. She turned back to stare out the windshield as Percy clambered into the backside, taking up position near one of the windows.

Lily continued trying to impose herself as the rest of the Weasleys filed in one by one. She was thankful they were too busy arguing with each other to notice she was still emotional. Mrs. Weasley got one window, while Percy got the other. Ginny was sitting next to her mother (likely at the matriarch’s insistence), while Ron was sandwiched between the twins.

“How come Lily gets the front?” he complained. “You never give it to me.”

“She was the first one out,” Mr. Weasley responded as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He gave Lily a pat on the hand for reassurance before throwing the key into the ignition. “You’re always the last.”

“You could save it for me,” Ron grumbled.

“Sorry, Ron,” Lily said, not feeling sorry for anything but herself. She gave one last sniff as they began pulling out of the driveway.

“Last chance,” Mr. Weasley called out. “Once I make the turn out, we’re not coming back for anything. You’ll have to make do with us sending it to you later.”

Nobody said anything, and the car rolled out, speeding off towards their destination.

True to his promise, Mr. Weasley didn’t turn around for a single thing, even as every single Weasley child took their turn remembering something very important that they had left behind. Lily felt quite smug that she had all her belongings.

“Molly, dear,” Mr. Weasley said, eyeing the time displayed on the dashboard as they got stuck in traffic. “If I just-“

“Absolutely not, Arthur,” Mrs. Weasley said sharply from the backseat.

“But we could easily make it if we just-“

“Not another word,” Mrs. Weasley commanded.

“Yes, dear,” Mr. Weasley acquiesced. He settled for speeding up, and Lily was quite sure they were well above the speed limit. She was absolutely certain she was a police car chase after them for a little bit, but it quickly faded into the distance. Lily wondered just how much the car was modified; it never should have been capable of _that_. At least Mr. Weasley seemed quite pleased with himself.

They didn’t slow down at all until they hit the heavy London traffic. Lily thought for sure they were going to be there with plenty of time to spare, but she was no longer as certain; the traffic seemed to be deadlocked. Mr. Weasley kept looking at the clock nervously, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

The car pulled into King’s Cross station with ten minutes to spare, and Mr. Weasley sent Fred, George, and Percy on up ahead to grab carts while the others helped unload the car. Lily threw her trunk and Weasley’s cage onto the first available cart, pushed along by Percy, and then she rolled ahead with Ron, who was determined to find a good seat on the train.

“We’ll never make it,” Ron said loudly, panting as they ran through the station. The other Weasleys were behind, attempting to catch up.

“We’ll make it,” Lily said, wiping sweat from her forehead as they passed platform 8 with seven minutes to spare. “Neville will save a spot for us, you’ll see.”

Lily ran through the barrier first, feeling relieved when she saw the bright red engine sitting before her. Steam was billowing quickly out of the release, and Lily hurried forward, trying to find a spot. There weren’t any students milling about by this point, other than the Weasley’s. The platform was occupied almost entirely by parents bidding farewell to their students. Lily could see Hermione, bushy-hair and a bright smile (even with her large front teeth), leaning out a window talking to her own. She briefly considered stopping in there, but she decided it wasn’t time yet, and moved on.

She spied Gran standing nearby on the platform, waving at a specific car, and she hurried to that one, assuming Neville would be in there. She pointedly did _not_ look over at Gran again, absolutely refusing to acknowledge the woman’s presence in any way.

“Lily!” Neville called (proving Lily right). He quickly hopped out, helping Lily get her things inside. “I didn’t think you’d make it, we were about to leave.”

“We almost didn’t,” Ron said, throwing his own things inside as he caught up.

Neville helped Lily up, and she collapsed into the nearest empty seat, trying to catch her breath. Ron sat down next to her soon after, and Neville closed the compartment door.

“Well, that’s that, then,” Ron said, spreading out to get comfortable. “Back to Hogwarts.”

“How’s your eyesight, Lily?’ Neville asked.

Lily gasped in excitement. “I can see!” she said, finally noticing that her vision was back to normal.

“Very observant,” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

The train started rolling before Lily could respond, and she leapt up to the window, trying to wave goodbye to the Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. She couldn’t see them anywhere, and Lily felt dejected at the thought of it. She felt another lump rising in her throat, and sat back down before either could notice her feelings.

“They’ll want you home for Christmas,” Ron said, proving that he was more clever than Lily ever assumed.

“What?” Neville asked, not picking up on the same hints.

“Never mind,” Ron said so neither of them would have to explain.

Neville could take that hint, at the least. “Did you find out what blinded you?” he asked.

Lily smiled, relieved that Neville believed in her without question.

“I did, actually,” she confirmed, starting to him to herself.

Ron’s mouth opened in surprise. “You didn’t!”

“I did,” Lily said, feeling awfully pleased with herself.

“How did you do that?’ Ron said in disbelief.

“He visited me last night,” Lily said, lowering her voice. “He said his name was Dobby, and that he was a house elf.”

“A house elf?” Neville asked. “Did he say who he served?”

“No,” Lily said, shaking her head. “He kept hitting himself whenever he was about to say something actually useful.”

“So somebody sent their house elf after you, then?” Ron said. “I suppose that’s one way to kill somebody. They’d never be able to tell, and the Ministry doesn’t keep records of who owns what.”

Lily shook her head. “He wasn’t trying to kill me, actually. Or, at least, he _said_ he wasn’t. He said he was trying to keep me from going to Hogwarts.”

Ron frowned. “Why would he do that?”

“He said something’s going to happen that’s really dangerous,” Lily responded, trying to get more comfortable on her seat. “He wouldn’t say what, though. He just said I absolutely should not go.”

“Fat chance of that,” Neville said, shaking his own head.  
“That’s what I told him,” Lily said, smiling in agreement.

“Well, that’s that, then,” Ron said, taking Scabbers out of his pocket and laying him on the seat next to him.

Lily jumped up in excitement, standing up on the cushion she had just been sitting upon. She reached up, grabbing Weasley’s cage so she could let the feline out.

“Do you have to do that while Scabbers is relaxing?” Ron whined.

“Weasley deserves to relax, too,” Lily said, sticking her tongue out at her friend. She turned the cage around, making cute noises as she peered inside to soothe her cat.

Inside the cage was a sole, red doll, stitched to look like a large replica of the cat. Lily let out a shout, tumbling off the seat and landing roughly on her backside.

“What?” Ron and Neville shouted at once, jumping up and whipping their wands out, looking around wildly for the attacker.

“I forgot Weasley!” Lily screamed, hands clutched at the sides of her head.


	10. Home At Last

“Oh, cheer up, Lily,” Ron said hours later as he sat down across from her once more. Neville closed the compartment doors behind the two of them, then sat next to his companion. “Mum and dad will keep him safe until we come back for Christmas.”

Lily glowered at him. He was wearing his school robes, now, red tie and all. Neville had his on as well, although he didn’t seem very happy about it. He kept pulling at his tie. He always had a habit of tying it too tightly, and then being incapable of making it looser. He didn’t usually pull at it, though. That was more of _her_ thing.

“That’s not the point, Ron,” Lily groaned leaning back into her seat. She’d spent most of the train ride moping. “How could I forget my own cat? What kind of master does that make me?”

“A terrible one,” Ron said with a smirk, having fun at Lily’s expense as per usual. Lily was getting used to it, at the least. It no longer hurt her feelings _quite_ as much. This one did, of course, but the circumstances were a bit different. She felt like she deserved it this time.

“Lavender is going to kill me,” Lily groaned, sliding down further into her seat. She could practically hear the girl’s complaints already.

“What’s Lavender got to do with anything?” Ron asked.

“She loves that cat,” Lily whined, “Almost more than I do. I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“Just ignore her, Lily,” Neville suggested.

“I can’t just ignore her, she talks a lot,” Lily said. “Besides, I share a dorm with her, don’t I? How am I supposed to ignore her when I live with her?”

“The same way Hermione is doing with you,” Ron suggested. That made Lily feel a bit worse again, which was quite helpful. She made a run to the bathroom earlier, and she ran into the bushy haired girl who promptly ignored everything she said.

“I should go freshen up,” Lily said as she stood. She stretched, feeling her muscles ache. They hadn’t gotten much action the past few days.

“What do you have to freshen up for, you’re already wearing your school robes,” Ron complained.

It was true, of course, since she’d had them on since leaving the hospital. She was hoping to change into some fresh robes before they pulled into the station, but she didn’t have the time anymore. She wasted too many opportunities being sad about her cat.

“I still need to put on the tie,” Lily said, pointing at her own, bare throat. It was still sitting in her robe pocket, tucked around her wand. She also desperately needed to tuck in her shirt, as well as wash her face. She was starting to feel a bit greasy after being confined in the warm train all day.

“Of course, can’t put a tie on in front of everyone else, I completely understand,” Ron said with a roll of his eyes.

“I’m glad you do,” Lily said nonchalantly as she opened the compartment door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Lily slid the door shut before he could further argue. She wouldn’t be very long. They were only a car away from the nearest restroom.

Lily past a few students wandering the hall as the proceeded. Most seemed to clam up as she passed, but she couldn’t tell if it was because of her or if they just didn’t want eavesdroppers in general. It hurt her feelings, regardless. They’d been doing it all day.

The bathroom was empty as Lily arrived, which she didn’t at all expect. She thought it’d be very busy, with how close they were to Hogwarts. She could even feel the train starting to slow.

Lily ran a faucet, waiting impatiently for the water to get warm. She splashed it on her face, then rubbed at it with a hand towel. She felt much better now, she had to admit.

The door opened as she was securing her neckwear, and she turned awkwardly just in time to spy Katie Bell waving goodbye to Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, her two best friends. Katie was wearing her pretty, brown hair in a ponytail which brought more emphasis on her kindly face. It had been too short for it last year, but she’d been complaining at the end about how long it was getting. She must have kept letting it grow out anyway, but found a compromise that made her happy.

Lily tore her eyes away before she could be found staring.

“Hullo, Lily,” Katie said, pulling up at the faucet next to her. She got the water running, then began washing her face just like Lily had done a moment ago.

“Hullo, Katie,” Lily responded nervously. She couldn’t figure out _why_ she was nervous. Perhaps it was because Katie was the first person to say anything all day, other than Neville and Ron.

“Trying out for the team again this year?” Katie asked curiously. “Dumbledore can’t say no, this year.”

“I was going to, yeah,” Lily answered as she tucked her tie down into her robes. Now she looked prim and proper, just like McGonagall would want. She liked the look of these robes a lot more than the ones she wore on the train last year. The sleeve cuffs were lined with gold and red, for her house colors, and the vest was the same shades. You couldn’t see it under the robes, granted, but she still liked it anyway.

“You still flying that Nimbus?” Katie asked as she dried her face. “Mum said she’d get me one now that the 2001 is out, but that I’d have to wait until Christmas.”

“Err-“ Lily stammered. “Actually, I’m flying the 2001 this year, I got it for-“

“No way!” Katie interrupted excitedly. She had a habit of dancing from foot to foot as she did so, which only served to fluster Lily further. “You didn’t, did you?”

“Err-“ Lily stammered, watching the girl’s excitement and trying to process this information, “Yeah, like I said, my birthday was just-“

“You _have_ to let me fly it,” Katie said quickly, grabbing Lily’s hand and clasping it between her own. “Please, Lily, I’ll do anything, anything at all, you name it!”

Lily could feel the heat rising to her face. “I- of course you can, you-“

Katie let out a whoop, throwing her fist into her air as she began doing her little dance again. Lily hid her smile behind her hand.

“Just wait until Wood hears this,” she said, “we’ll be unstoppable this year, just you wait! No way any of the other teams are getting one.”

“What’s with the ponytail?” Lily found herself asking. She had meant to think it, of course, but the words slipped out anyway. She couldn’t help but stare at it as it swung back and forth with every movement Katie took.

“Keeps the hair out of my face, but I can still keep it long,” Katie answered, walking over quickly and then forcing Lily to turn around.

“What are you-“ Lily began.

“I have an extra tie,” Katie interrupted. Lily could feel her hair being lifted. There was a brief _snap_ , and then Katie turned Lily to face the mirror.

“Err-“ Lily stammered out.

“See? Now we match!” Katie said in the same, excited tone, as if their hair matching was as exciting as the world’s fastest broom.

Lily was torn. Her neck certainly didn’t feel as warm as it had a moment before, which was quite nice, and she _did_ actually like how it looked. Katie even left a fringe, so her bangs weren’t completely pulled back. She also did like how she matched Katie, even though her face was currently a much brighter red than the other, beaming one next to her’s in the mirror.

What she _didn’t_ like was how revealed her scar was. She couldn’t stand it when people looked, but there was no way to hide it here. At the very least, Katie didn’t so much as spare it a glance.

“I love it,” Lily decided to say, which seemed to satisfy Katie even more. She could always change it back later if it was too much, but she didn’t want to disappoint the other girl.

“My mum took me to see the Harpies play over the summer, and they all wore one,” Katie explained quickly, hardly taking a pause to breath. “I thought it looked better, so I thought I’d give it a try!”

“It looks-“ Lily began. Katie interrupted again with a quick gasp, raising her hand over her mouth. Lily’s hand involuntarily clamped down over her scar, thinking the other girl had noticed it for the first time.

“I forgot! I was supposed to meet Angelina and Alicia outside, the trains stopping.” Katie hurried over to the exit, calling over her shoulder. “See you around, Lily! See you at practice!”

“See you, Katie,” Lily called out to an empty bathroom.

“What’s with the hair?” Ron asked with a raised eyebrow as she finally made her way back into the compartment. The train was now fully stopped, and students were already leaving their compartments. Lily thought she could hear Hagrid out there calling for the first years.

“Katie fixed it up for me,” Lily said, blushing again. She’d leave it at that.

“It looks nice,” Neville mumbled.

“Did either of you see Ginny?” Lily asked. “I promised I’d see her off before she split up with the rest of the first years.”

“Haven’t seen her,” Ron said. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any of the family. Not even Percy, and he _always_ makes his rounds.”

Lily frowned. “You don’t think-“

“You three,” a Ravenclaw prefect called out as they passed, “Off the train, hurry up, leave your belongings behind.”

Lily hurried to obey, still worrying about where the other Weasleys were. She sincerely hoped they weren’t stuck at the platform, arriving too late to miss the train. She didn’t think about while she was hurrying forward with Ron, but neither of them ever stopped to check.

“I’m sure they’re around,” Ron grumbled as he joined her, hopping down onto the station below. Hagrid was making his way down, leading a pack of first years down the forest path they’d taken the year before. Lily _definitely_ didn’t see Ginny down there.

“Where do we go?” Neville asked.

“We’re supposed to take the carriages,” Lily said, pointing forward to where a long line of horseless vehicles were waiting for them. She read _Hogwarts: A History_ last year. She knew the drill.

“You better hurry, Lily,” Ron said, nudging her and then pointing ahead. “Hermione’s climbing into one now.”

Lily followed his finger, spying the familiar bushy, brown hair of her friend. She hurried ahead, waving at the other two as she left them. If she could get Hermione into a carriage alone, there’s no way she could be ignored.

“Bless him,” Lily said, thinking of Ron. Sometimes the boy _could_ be observant.

Hermione climbed into an empty carriage ahead, and Lily followed right behind, shutting the door after she climbed in so nobody else could intrude. She glanced out the other way in time to see Lavender and Parvati grumbling together as they walked away. She hoped _that_ wouldn’t cause her any trouble later.

Lily heard Hermione sniff next to her, as if she, too, was displeased with this turn of events. Lily took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

“Hey, Hermione,” Lily said in a cheerful tone.

“Hello, Hazel,” Hermione said, staring straight out the window. Lily wished there were glass windows on these things. All she could see was the bushy, brown hair from this angle.

“That’s not a good start,” Lily mumbled to herself. She tapped her fingers on her leg as the carriage started off. The whole thing swayed as if being pulled by invisible horses.

“What do you think pulls the carriages?’ Lily asked, trying to make small talk. It wasn’t her best attempt, but it wasn’t her _worst,_ either.

“Magic,” Hermione said tersely. That certainly wasn’t what Lily wanted to hear.

“Well, _Hogwarts: A History_ said-“ Lily started. They were the only two students who read the book last year, a fact they’d bonded over more than a few times.

“That the carriages are pulled by several unknown forces,” Hermione interrupted. “In the 1800s, they flew through the air. That was stopped when a student fell from them. I read the book, too.”

“I was going to-“

“I’m not in the mood for talking, Hazel,” Hermione said tersely again. Lily felt her heart drop.

“Did you have a good summer?” Lily asked, deciding to ignore that request.

“It was fine,” Hermione said.

“I was at the Burrow for most of it,” Lily said. “You know, with the-“

“With the Weasleys, yes,” Hermione snapped. “I’m sure you had a wonderful time.”

_Still a sensitive topic,_ Lily thought to herself. Hermione was invited last year as well, but she was unable to attend since she stayed at the school the previous Christmas, supposedly for Lily’s benefit.

“Did you go anywhere?” Lily asked, trying a different angle.

“I spent it at home,” Hermione said, “with my parents.”

“They’re dentists, right?” Lily asked.

“Yes,” Hermione confirmed.

“Did you learn any new spells over the summer?” Lily asked. They practiced together all the time last year, maybe that was something to try.

“We aren’t allowed to use magic outside of school.”

“Well, I learned a new charm for seeing in the dark, and-“

“I’m sure you practiced several times, eschewing the rules as usual.” Hermione interrupted. Lily saw her briefly turn towards her direction, but she never saw any face.

“Well, that’s not entirely-“

“Did you know there was an article in the paper about you ending up in St. Mungo’s?” Hermione said, finally turning to face Lily.

Lily blinked in surprise, considering her next words very carefully. “Well, err, no, I didn’t-”

“It blamed it on an accidental use of magic from a first year,” Hermione snapped. “So, congratulations, you got away with making trouble yet again.”

“I wasn’t trying to-“ Lily began.

“No, I suppose you weren’t practicing _Aterlumen_ , were you?”

“You even knew the-“

“Of course I know the spell, I bought you the book,” Hermione said, huffing. “I suppose that was a mistake.”

“Hermione-“

“Did you know you’ve gotten Mr. Weasley into trouble?” Hermione interrupted once more, finally turning to face Lily. Her skin was twinged red, likely from the anger and frustration she was currently venting onto Lily, and her large front teeth flashed with every word. “He’s facing an enquiry at work because of you. He could be _sacked,_ Lily, and you’re sitting here not caring in the slightest. You’re trying to _brag_ about what you did.”

Lily was lost for words. She could feel her mouth stuck halfway open, as if left midsentence.

“I didn’t know,” she managed at last in a quiet, apologetic tone. “They told me everything was fine, Ron didn’t even-“

“Why would it be fine, Hazel? You broke international law! Of _course_ there’d be an investigation. What did you think was going to happen?”

Lily didn’t have a response to that question.

Hermione shook her head, then turned to face out the other way, staring out into the trees as the carriage lumbered along.

“Please, Hazel, I don’t want to talk right now.”

“But you said you’d-“ Lily stammered out.

“I said I’d talk over the summer, but you never answered any of my letters, did you?” Hermione said, crossing her arms as she turned to face Lily again. This time, she just looked said and disappointed.

Lily frowned. “Wait, but-“

“Please, Hazel,” Hermione repeated, starting to turn around again.

“Hermione, I _did_ write, I thought it was you-“

“Not right now, Hazel,” Hermione said. “Maybe later.”

“Just hear me out,” Lily said, feeling stubborn. “I’ve had enough with people ignoring me and not letting me explain. I _did_ write you over the summer. I wrote over a dozen times! I even wrote from the Burrow, but I never got a response, not a single one. I thought you were still mad at me, and I kept waiting for at least a single letter asking me to stop, but I never-“

“Hazel, enough,” Hermione said. “I never got a single owl from you.”

“Hermione, why would I lie, I’m the one that _begged_ you to talk to me, why would I go and _not_ write back, it doesn’t make any sense!.”

Hermione thought for a moment before responding again. She chewed on her lip, which brought a small smile to Lily’s lips. It was one of the few habits they shared; they both did it when nervous.

“We can talk about it later,” Hermione said at last. “I’ll have to ask- I’ll have to think about it.”

Now that _was_ curious. Hermione never cut herself off like that. That was far more of a Lily thing to do.

“That’s good enough for me,” Lily said, leaning back into her seat. Hermione couldn’t ignore her _all_ year, they lived together. Lavender, on the other hand, would probably make it to Christmas once she found out about Weasley.

“I didn’t say I’ve forgiven you, yet,” Hermione said. “Far from it, matter of fact. If what you say is true, then why did our letters never reach our destinations?”

Lily thought for a moment, chewing on her own lip. “I don’t know, maybe they got lost?”

“Owls are supposed to innately know where to deliver mail,” Hermione said, “and Hedwig never gave any signs of refusing or failing to deliver. What about your owl?”

“Well,” Lily delayed, “Gran’s owls were fine, but I could see Errol getting lost, no matter what you say. Maybe somebody stole the letters?”

Hermione scoffed. “The owls are supposed to go straight to the recipient, nobody should have had the chance.”

“Gran’s owls always go to her, even when a letter is for Neville,” Lily said. “I think they might just go to whoever the owner is.” Lily could easily see Gran confiscation letters that she didn’t want Lily receiving, even if Lily didn’t think she had a reason to hold back Hermione’s.

“That’s ridiculous, _An Owl’s Life_ said-“

“Books aren’t always right, Hermione,” Lily said, cutting her off for once. She had to admit, it felt good to be on that end of things occasionally. “And that one was written centuries ago.”

“Wizards have been using owls for even longer, I don’t see why the age would be a factor here,” Hermione said with a sniff. She _hated_ the very possibility of a book or professor being wrong about something. Lily had seen it all the time, of course. Her muggle teachers were wrong all the time. Her tests were always returned with several questions marked wrong even though she’d done all the right things.

“Well, obviously they were wrong, weren’t they? Like I said, our owls always went straight to Gran.” Lily never once had a letter go straight to her from one of those owls. The only one that had was from whoever sent the Potions book.

“Are you trying to tell me that Mrs. Longbottom has been hiding your letters?” Hermione said.

“No,” Lily said, “I don’t think she would.” At least, not unless Lily was doing something wrong. She’d learned a lot about Gran those last few weeks.

“Maybe Neville, then?’ Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“No, I don’t think he would-“

“Lily, even if that was the issue here, Hedwig isn’t one of yours, is she? She’d go straight to you, I know she would.”

“We can test it later,” Lily said, “Once we get to Hogwarts.”

“Oh, yes, what a brilliant idea,” Hermione said. “Then we’ll know you’re lying for sure once she flies a few feet away.”

“Hermione, I’m not lying,” Lily said, starting to pull at her tie again. She realized that would _definitely_ make it seem like she was lying, and quickly stopped. Hermione obviously saw it, though, which only made her hand rise back up in nervousness.

Hermione was silent for a long, long while, which only made Lily’s anxiousness increase. She was starting to find it difficult to breath in here, even though the carriage was completely open to the air.

“ _Aterlumen_ ,” Hermione asked at last. “Why were you practicing that?”

“I just wanted to learn a charm before school started,” Lily admitted.

“And it had nothing to do with sneaking around at night?” Hermione asked.

Lily tried to force her face to freeze, so as not to give anything away. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Hermione would find the truth so quickly.

“I don’t need it to sneak around at night,” Lily said. It was the truth, too, technically. She didn’t _need_ it, not with the map and the cloak.

“So you _do_ intend to sneak out after curfew, then?” Hermione asked.

Lily thought about lying, but decided the truth was best in this instance. Hermione would only be more upset if she snuck out after saying she wasn’t going to.

“Yes,” Lily said confidently. “I’ve got something new, too, though, so don’t worry about McGonagall catching me.”

Hermione turned back to face the other way. Lily started tapping her fingers on her leg again, then let out a gasp as the scenery changed.

“Look we’re at Hogwarts,” Lily said, pointing up at the castle as it came into view.

The castle was, once again, trying it’s best to look very imposing. Every single window was lit up, making the castle seem far more populated than Lily knew it was. In a week, all of the unnecessary lights would be gone from the frame. She had a theory last year that the staff liked to make it as impressive as possible for the incoming first years, and she felt like this was fairly solid evidence of it.

Large chunks of the castle weren’t visible; the sky was very cloudy, leaving very little natural light to shine down on the battlements. Lily could see the castle lights reflecting off the nearby lake, so at the very least, the new students would still be getting the full effect. She couldn’t see any boats moving across the water yet, but that made sense; the older students had been settled for a while before they entered last year.

“What do you think they’ll be serving?” Lily asked after her stomach loudly growled.

“Not enough for you, I’m sure,” Hermione replied. Lily couldn’t tell if she was trying to be mean about it, but her feelings were hurt regardless.

“How’d you actually spend the summer?” Lily asked as their carriage slowed to a crawl in front of the castle gates. The carriages ahead of them already had students piling out and heading into the castle.

“I told you, I spent it at home,” Hermione repeated with an exasperated tone. “We’re going abroad next year, but my parents were too busy this year, and couldn’t get the time off.”

“When did you go to Diagon?’ Lily asked as she climbed out. She was now scraping the bottom of that barrel for conversational topics, since she knew she was rapidly running out of time. “I thought we might run into each other, but I never saw you.”

Hermione came down right after, doing her best to maintain a stone-faced. “Just a couple of weeks ago. The only people I ran into were the Malfoys.”

“I bet they were pleasant,” Lily said, trying to smile out of sympathy.

Hermione snorted, then seemed embarrassed at her reaction. “Malfoy knocked my books out of hands and then called me names.”

That shocked Lily, even though it probably shouldn’t have.

“Really? He hasn’t done that before. I mean, he’d always been a prat, but-“

“Actually, he has,” Hermione admitted. “He only got worse after our detention together. He just never did it around you.”

“Well, that’s good then,” Lily said, starting to feel rather angry.

Lily did a quick scan of the crowd around them, trying to find the sneering blonde monster.

“Don’t start anything, Lily, it’s only the first day back,” Hermione said, guessing what was on Lily’s mind. She said it as if she didn’t expect anything, though, which made Lily’s blood boil more.

“Later, then,” Lily said, climbing up the steps.

“You should really be on your best behavior, McGonagall knows to look out for you,” Hermione said.

“She’ll never find me,” Lily muttered as the two entered the entrance hall together. There were ghosts floating in the rafters, and the portraits and paintings lining the walls were bustling about, trying to look busy.

“There’s Lavender,” Hermione said, pointing. “Goodbye, Hazel.”

Hermione didn’t wave as she walked off, but she at least got one from Lavender and Parvati. _That’s something, at least,_ she thought to herself as she returned the eager eaves. Of course, they wouldn’t be _quite_ as friendly once they learned about the cat. Lily just hoped Lavender wouldn’t be _too_ mean about it.

Lily waited in front of the castle, then walked forward as Ron and Neville finally climbed out of their own carriage. They shared one with Dean and Seamus, fellow Gryffindor second years, although they hurried ahead without so much as looking at Lily. Lily got the sense that Dean didn’t mind her so much, but since he was best friends with Seamus, he couldn’t talk to her. Seamus always seemed _very_ uncomfortable around her, even though she’d never even said so much as a word to him.

“How’d it go?” Neville asked as she fell in beside them. He seemed genuinely interested, if a bit nervous about it. He didn’t like seeing any of his friends unhappy.

“Rough,” Lily answered dejectedly. “She called me Hazel for most of it.”

“That’s terrible,” Ron said, shaking his hand. He put a single hand on Lily’s shoulder for reassurance. Neville’s response was, of course, to pull her into a hug, which she appreciated _far_ more. Thankfully for Ron, she’d never expect one from him.

“There you are,” a voice said from behind as they entered the Entrance Hall.

“There you are, Percy,” Ron said in response. Lily turned to face him as well, feeling happy to see him for the first time ever. At least that was confirmation that the other Weasleys made it.

Percy was wearing his school robes, although he looked a bit disheveled. Lily couldn’t quite put her finger on what was off about him.

“Where’s your badge, Percy?” Neville asked

“Had to borrow a set of robes from the school,” Percy answered. “My badge will be here tomorrow.”

Lily frowned. “Why did you have to borrow robes? Where are yours?”

“We didn’t make the train,” Percy said, shaking his head. “Dad apparated us over to Hogsmeade one by one and then walked us down while mum went to Diagon to make sure our things got shipped. Figures the one time I didn’t keep it on me was the-”

“ _You missed the train?_ ” Ron asked in disbelief. “You were right behind us, how did that happen?”

“That’s what we’d like to know,” Percy said, placing his hands on his hip to look more stern. “The column turned to stone right after you two went in, and we couldn’t pass. You didn’t see anything strange, did you?”

Lily and Ron both shook their heads.

“We didn’t really have time to look,” Lily said, “We barely made the train ourselves.”

“Well, still, if you think of anything, let McGonagall know,” Percy said, pointing to over where McGonagall was standing next to Ginny, who was wearing a set of robes that looked far too large for her.

“Ginny didn’t get to take the boats?” Lily said sadly.

“No,” Percy answered, shaking his head with the same feeling. “She’s waiting with McGonagall for the rest of the first years to show up.”

“That’s terrible,” Lily said, starting to walk forward.

“No, you don’t.” Percy grabbed Lily by her collar, turning her to push her inside the Great Hall. “Ginny doesn’t need to know what she’s missing out on, you’ll only make her feel worse.”

“You don’t have to push,” Lily said as they entered the great hall. It was still decorated in the Ravenclaw colors, since they were the winners of the cup last year. Lily knew from experience that it would stay that way for the first month, then transition into normal mode until the end of year, where it would switch to whoever the new winner was. Ravenclaw managed to unseat the seven-time winner Slytherin in a big upset last time. She hoped Gryffindor could swing it this year.

Lily took a seat across from Ron and Neville at the Gryffindor table. She was on the left side, where she wouldn’t have to turn around once the first years came in. Percy sat just a few spaces away, where he could keep an eye on his fellow Gryffindors. Lily saw him smile and wave at a Ravenclaw prefect. She couldn’t remember her name, but she thought it might be Penelope. She spotted Hermione sitting further down the table, with Lavender and Parvati, who seemed to be discussing earnestly with her. She was sure she saw them glancing at her occasionally.

“I think they’re talking about me,” Lily said, nudging her head in their direction so Neville and Ron could see.

“Course they are,” Ron said, drumming his fingers on the table as he stared at an empty silver platter, waiting for the food to appear. “All girls do is talk about what everyone else is up to.”

“That’s not true,” Lily said, “I never-“

“You’re not exactly normal, are you?” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Lily sniffed. “That’s not fair, Ron.” She just didn’t like to talk about people behind their backs. She had too much of that going on about her.

“Who was it that wouldn’t stop talking about Lily all summer?” Neville said, smiling.

“Oh, you were?” Lily said, smiling as well. That was certainly a nice change of pace. Ron rarely got made fun of as much as the other two did.

Ron’s ears turned red. “I was not, I was-“

“You know,” Lily said, leaning forward as her grin grew wider, “I seem to remember Mrs. Weasley mentioning something like that. Plus, she had all my favorite foods made for my birthday. Where would she have learned that, do you know, Neville?”

“Haven’t a clue,” Neville said, shaking his head. “Couldn’t have been me or Gran, we never wrote to them.”

“Knock it off,” Ron said, trying not to look at either of them. “She asked, that’s all. And you both just happen to share a lot of foods.”

“I just eat what’s available,” Neville said. “I can’t blame you for not noticing that my favorite food is pumpkin pie.”

“Pumpkin pie?’ Ron said, trying to latch onto something to change the subject. “I don’t think I’ve ever even seen you-“

“Well, clearly you’re too busy watching me,” Lily said, interrupting. She laughed, having fun at someone else’s expense for a change.

“Please, it’s not my fault that your favorite food is _everything_ ,” Ron said, finding his footing again.

“That isn’t even remotely true,” Lily said, spreading her hands. She hated goose, for instance, even if Ron insisted it tasted the same as a turkey. She fully disagreed with that notion.

“The way you shovel down food, it’s hard to tell,” Ron said.

“You’re one to talk,” Lily scoffed.

“Yeah, and all of those foods were _my_ favorite, too,” Ron said, “They just happened to line up together, since it’s all we ever eat here. I just listed all of them off, is all.”

“What about the cabbage?” Neville said.

“Pardon?” Ron said, ears growing red again.

“Good point, Neville,” Lily said, nodding her head. “How could Mrs. Weasley possibly have known I like cabbage, unless Ron specifically told her I like it. He never touches the stuff himself, just can’t stand it.”

“Why is this happening to me?” Ron asked, trying to bury his head on the table, laying it in his arms. _Hide the shame, Ron,_ Lily thought to herself.

“Oh, please, you can’t spend all summer teasing me and then give up when you get some back,” Lily said, trying not to laugh.

“How long do we have to wait?” Ron’s muffled voice said.

“I don’t know,” Neville said. “How long were we on the boats last year?”

“It _felt_ like a long time,” Lily said, trying to remember. “But I don’t know if that was the nerves, or if it actually took a long time.”

“Where are Fred and George?” Neville asked, looking down the table. “We could ask them.”

“Oi, Fred,” Lily called down the table once she spotted the brothers.  
“Oi, Lily,” Fred called back down.

“When do the first years get here?” she shouted back.

“Soon enough,” Fred responded as if that was an answer. Soon enough could mean absolutely anything.

“There you go, Ron,” Lily said, much more quietly.

“Great, and you only got half the hall’s attention,” Ron said, raising his head from the table. His ears were still red, but they were calming down.

“Malfoy is staring over here,” Lily said, meeting the blonde boy’s gaze. He was, indeed, staring over at Lily, and he seemed to be laughing about something. His hair was slicked back and as proper as ever, and he was wearing that same self-satisfied smirk he always had. Lily couldn’t stand it.

“What’s he on about?” Neville asked.

“Who cares?” Ron said. “It’s just Malfoy. We’ll find out later, if it’s something important.”

“I don’t like him looking over here,” Lily said. “Do you think anyone would notice if I cursed him?”

“Yes,” Neville answered.

“Lily, we’re in a packed hall,” Ron said, waving his hands around at the room packed full of witnesses.

“I could-“

“Save it for later, when half the school _isn’t_ looking our way,” Ron interrupted. That seemed like a sound enough argument.

“He ran into Hermione at Diagon Alley, did you know?” Lily said, starting to feel angry again.

“And I’m sure he was quite pleasant,” Ron said, snorting.

“She said he knocked the books out of her hands,” Lily said, narrowing her eyes at Malfoy. He seemed to notice, and lost the smile on his face. She saw him nudge Goyle next to him, and then whisper something in the cohort’s ear.

“Get him back later,” Ron said again. “The first years are here.”

Lily snapped back to attention, turning just in time to see McGonagall leading a pack of scared children through the middle of the hall.

“Were we that small last year?” Lily asked in bemusement.

“You were smaller,” Neville said.

“You’re still that small,” Lily retorted. Neville hadn’t grown much over the summer or even the year past, but he always insisted the men his family simply grew late. Lily hoped he was right, for his sake. Ron was already almost taller than the rest of his family. Lily was worried she’d stop growing completely, now. She was already taller than the other girls from their year, although not by much for some of them.

Lily spotted Ginny joining the rest of the group, and she waved at the younger girl. She saw Ginny meet her eyes, and then quickly turn away. _That_ definitely _hurt my feelings,_ Lily thought as a pain went through her heart.

“What’s wrong with-“ Lily started, leaning closer to Ron.

“Shh!” Percy hissed from a few seats down.

Lily rolled her eyes, but turned her attention back on McGonagall, who had just set out the stool. She accepted the Sorting Hat from the new Head Boy (a Ravenclaw, Lily couldn’t help but notice), looking just as frayed and wrinkly as last year, and placed it on the stool

There was a moment of silence while everybody stared at the hat. Then, the hat’s brim split open, and it began to sing in a loud, echoey voice:

_My young master Gryffindor_

_Prized all those brave and strong_

_Challenged by Slytherin_

_Who claimed that he was wrong_

_His friend wanted only those_

_That were pure of blood_

_Ravenclaw said differently_

_And nipped ignorance in the bud_

_Hufflepuff scorned them all_

_And allowed everyone_

_She welcomed every candidate_

_Until their job was done_

_Gryffindor and Slytherin_

_Often argued and clashed_

_Until one-night young Gryffindor_

_Had his young skull smashed_

_The rest claimed an accident_

_But Slytherin was cast out_

_But even so his legacy_

_Is here without a doubt_

_Deep inside you I shall find_

_Where I believe you belong_

_For in my mind I can spot_

_Where your heart lies strong_

_If courage is the prize you keep_

_With Gryffindor you’ll stay_

_If knowledge is what you have deep_

_In the Ravenclaw halls you’ll lay_

_Slytherin prizes those who know_

_That their ambition reaches tall_

_While Hufflepuff will not mind_

_Teaching one or all_

_Keep in mind we are one family_

_Do your best to get along_

_Stand among and with each other_

_In Hogwarts, you belong_

The hat stopped singing, leaving Lily confused while the others around her applauded. She glanced around nervously, trying to find somebody that wouldn’t find it a stupid question.

“Does the hat always sing a different song?” Lily asked Percy, who was still sitting nearby. He’d never make fun of her, certainly.

“Yes, although it isn’t usually that morbid,” Percy said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him mention Gryffindor’s death before.”

“I felt like it was longer last year,” Neville added. “Although that might just have been the nerves from before we were sorted.”

“Did Slytherin really kill Gryffindor?” Ron asked, apparently ignoring Neville.

“It’s not actually known,” Percy said. “The hat was created _after_ Gryffindor died by Hufflepuff, so it’d naturally believe what she did.”

“Maybe the hat wanted to try something new,” Neville offered.

“Maybe he just reuses a song when all the students that heard it are gone,” Ron offered, drumming his fingers against the table again now that he was bored.

“It’s possible that-“ Percy began.

“Who is that kid?” Lily said, nudging her head to a small, mousy-haired boy waiting amongst the first years. He didn’t seem nervous at all, unlike those around him. “He won’t stop staring at me.”  
“Well, you _are_ famous,” Ron said.

“But how does he already know who I am?” Lily said. “Usually it takes until somebody hears my name the first time.”

“Lily,” Ron said, staring right at her in disbelief.

“Ron,” Lily said, smiling at him.

“You still have your hair in a tail,” he said, pointing straight at her scar. “You have been since the train.”

“Oh,” Lily said, blushing and quickly trying to put her hair back to normal.

“Just keep it that way,” Ron said. “Now you look unnatural, I’m too used to it.”

“You know I don’t like-“

“What’s the big deal? Everybody’s already seen it at this point, you’ve been walking around like that all day.”

Lily bit her lip, glancing around at the rest of the student body as she tried to undo the tie. She stopped as her eyes found Katie, who smiled and waved before facing back towards Angelina and Alicia. Lily put her hands back on the table after that. She’d hate to disappoint the older girl. Ron shook his head as if he didn’t understand.

“How can you constantly do the bravest thing, and then still be so scared of the tiniest issue?” Ron said. “For Merlin’s sake, Lily, you fought _You-Know-Who_ just last year.”

“I don’t need you telling me what should or shouldn’t make me uncomfortable, Ron,” Lily said, feeling a tiny twinge of fear go through her body. _Don’t think about it,_ she reminded herself, pushing the image of Quirrell’s face down into the far recesses of her brain. That always helped to calm her down.

The crowd at their table started clapping, causing Lily to nearly jump out of her skin. She might not have, but she was already on edge.

“What- what happened?” Lily asked, looking around.

“Colin Creevey just made Gryffindor,” Neville said, actually paying attention to the sorting. “The first of the night.”

“Did you really forget about the Sorting?” Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, no, it’s that kid,” Lily said, trying to hide her face as the mousy individual made his way down the table, coming straight for Lily. She really, _really_ hoped he was going to pass on by.

“Is this seat taken?” Colin asked. His voice matched his face, Lily thought. It was equally high-pitched and mousy.

“Yes,” Lily said without warmth, trying not to leave any room. She didn’t know why she didn’t like this kid. There was just something about him.

“You can sit over here,” Ron offered, trying to hold in his smile.

“Thanks!” The kid said excitedly, hurrying over to the other side of the table.

“What are you doing?” Lily asked in a furious whisper.

“Having some fun,” Ron said, scooting over to let the first year sit down. Lily was flabbergasted. How could Ron say something thoughtful earlier in the day, and then turn around and do this?

“Hello,” Colin said, extending his hand. Lily stared at it disapprovingly. “Colin Creevey, big fan!”

Lily glanced over at the Slytherin table, noticing Malfoy staring at her and laughing loudly. That made Lily steel her heart more.

“No thanks,” Lily refused. “I don’t like shaking hands.”

“Not a problem, I understand completely,” Colin said, quickly taking his hand away. “Do you mind if I get a picture of you later? I brought my own-“

“Yes, I do,” Lily said, trying to hide her scar behind her hand. She couldn’t help but notice that Colin kept staring at it. This was _exactly_ what she didn’t want to happen. She thought about putting her hair back down again, but then her eyes flickered over towards Katie again. It _did_ look nice on her.

“I read all about you,” Colin said, failing to take any of Lily’s hints. “I’m Muggle-born, but know about everything you’ve done!”

“Great,” Lily said, trying not to groan.

“I couldn’t believe that you beat Voldemort as a baby!” Colin said while everybody around him flinched at the name. Lily took a deep breath to steady her nerves.

“You’re not supposed to say the name,” she whispered. “Say You-Know-Who instead.”

“It was You-Know-Who that gave you the scar, right?” Colin asked. “Do you know how you, err- How you did it?”

“No,” Lily said, refusing to have this conversation any longer.

“I heard what you did against Quirrell last year, too,” Colin said, moving past the dismissal. “After that, I just knew I had to join Gryffindor, too, so I could be in the same house you were!”

“Maybe you could start a fan club,” Ron said, suppressing his utter joy. Lily shot daggers at the boy, but he just smiled warmly back at her.

“Would that be allowed, do you think?” Colin asked. Ron sputtered at that, almost losing his composure.

“Colin, that is the absolute last thing I want,” Lily said, trying to explain it to the boy. It was her only hope at this point.

“But you’re great!” Colin said. Lily died a little more inside, losing a last bit of hope she didn’t even know she had.

“Colin, if you let _anybody_ outside of Gryffindor find out about this, I _will_ hunt you down,” Lily said, trying her best to seem threatening. “ _Especially_ the Slytherins. I have a hard-enough time around here as it is.”

“How could anybody give you a hard time?” Colin asked.

“That’s the first good question you’ve asked,” Lily said. “Now, if you’d please, we were having a _private_ conversation.”

“No problem, Lily, I’ll see you later!” Colin got up, still smiling like a lunatic, and went off to find a seat near some fellow first years. Lily hadn’t even noticed them be sorted; she’d been too focused on wanting to die.

“Bless him,” Ron said, wiping a tear from his eye. “He’ll be great, he will.”

“ _Please_ don’t egg him on, Ron,” Lily said. “The last thing I need Malfoy learning is that somebody wants to start a fan club for me.”

“You need ten signatures to start a club,” Neville said helpfully, “So I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think anybody else would sign.”

“I would,” Ron said, “and I’m sure the twins would, too. It’d be a riot.”

“I’m sure you want to join for other reasons,” Lily said, trying to put the pressure back on Ron now that he’d given her an opening.

Ron’s ears turned red again, getting Lily’s point. “Okay, I’ll back off, no harm done.”

“That’s yet to be seen,” Lily said, clapping along with everyone else once the next Gryffindor was sorted.

“Who just got sorted?” Ron asked.

“Your sister,” Neville said, pointing at Ginny heading straight for Lily. Lily didn’t realize they were that close to the end; there were only two students left.

“Ah, good,” Ron said, “I was hoping she’d get in.”

“Welcome to Gryffindor, Ginny,” Lily said as she made room next to her. Ginny quickly walked past, heading further down the table and sitting next to Colin and the rest of the first years.

“What was that about?” Ron asked.

“I guess she’s mad at me, too,” Lily said, setting her chin down on the table in disappointment.

“At least she’ll get over it quickly,” Ron offered. “She’s never been able to hold a grudge long.”

“We’ll have to congratulate her on Gryffindor, later,” Neville said.

“What’s the point?” Ron said. “As if there was ever any doubt after the rest of us made it into Gryffindor.”

“I was worried I wouldn’t be sorted at all,” Neville said nervously. “Family all thought I was a squib for a while. Uncle had to drop me out of a window before I manifested anything at all.”

“What’s a squib?” Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

“People born into a magical family that don’t have magic,” Ron explained. “Like the opposite of a Muggleborn.”

“Oh,” Lily said, starting to drum her own fingers on the table in apprehension. “I was worried I’d be in Slytherin.”

“Why is that?” Ron asked.

“The hat wanted to put me there,” Lily elaborated. “Said I’d do well in any of the houses, but Slytherin would be the best for me.”

“He didn’t,” Ron said in a shocked tone.”

“He did,” Lily confirmed. “I practically had to beg to be in Gryffindor instead.”

“Why did you do that?” Neville asked. “You’d be fine in Ravenclaw, you could have gone there instead.”

“I, err-“ Lily stammered, not wanting to explain the real reason. She just didn’t want to be separated from Hermione, the first person who ever tried to be her friend. That made her heart ache all the more, since the girl was now ignoring her.

“Still, imagine being in Slytherin,” Ron said, completely oblivious to Lily’s stammering. “Although, green _does_ look pretty good on you. I liked that vest you had over the summer.”

“Gee, thanks, Ron,” Lily said, relieved that she’d been interrupted for the first time in her life. “Nice to know you pay attention to what I’m wearing.”

Ron groaned, setting his head back down on the table, probably wishing for death to come for him, instead, all while Lily and Neville laughed at him.

Ron was, thankfully, saved further embarrassment by Dumbledore standing now that the sorting had been completed. Lily realized, a bit too late, that the only two she had paid attention to at all were Ginny and Colin. _At least I got two of the Gryffindors_ , she thought.

“Before we begin the feast,” Dumbledore said once the last rumbles of conversation died out, “I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. Let us all give him a warm welcome.”

“Gran said he was a git,” Lily said, eyeing the new professor. He flashed a handsome smile around the hall, and Lily could have sworn she heard some sighing. He was certainly nice-looking, Lily had to give him that much. His dirty-blonde hair was perfectly coiffed, and his smile was a bright white. He was wearing a delicate set of blue robes, embroidered with gold edges.

“That explains why we needed all his books,” Ron said, grumbling. “Codger wanted to stuff his own pockets.

“Can’t believe he’s here,” Lily grumbled in agreement.

“Why don’t you like him?” Neville asked, curious.

“I read all his books,” Lily said. “They’re nothing but terrible adventure novels. There’s not a single spell in them that we haven’t already learned or discussed, and what little new ones there are, there’s no explanation as to what they do or how to do them. It’s all a waste of time and money.”

“Figures it’s the spells you care about,” Ron said, grabbing some chicken off a nearby platter as it suddenly appeared. Lily didn’t mention that he’d also robbed her of several dozens of Galleons, since she had bought two sets of his books. That still stung, even if she wasn’t hurting for funds.

“Why wouldn’t I care about them?” Lily said, piling her own plate with food. “That’s the only reason we’re even here.”

“I think it’s safe to say Defense _won’t_ be your favorite class this year, then,” Ron said between shoveling morsels into his mouth.

Lily snorted. “He can’t be worse than Quirrell, can he?”

“At least he won’t try to kill you,” Neville offered with a shy smile. Lily smiled in return, even though the thought sent a twinge of panic through her.

Lily was thoroughly beaten by Ron this meal. With infinitely refilling platters of food, Lily simply stood no chance, even with Neville trying to run interference. At one point in the meal, Lily had a vague feeling of somebody watching her, and she turned just in time to see Hermione quickly looking away. That ruined a bit of her appetite; she might have clinched it with another set of hands helping.

Dumbledore stood once more at the end of the meal, waving his hands as the platters and remaining desserts vanished. Ron grumbled something about wanting more, but Lily didn’t believe him. He’d been sitting still the past ten minutes.

“Before you are dismissed, we have a few things to go over, as per usual. First, all students are to be reminded that the Forbidden Forest is restricted for _all_ students, with absolutely _no_ exceptions.”

Lily sniggered at that, thinking of last year. She wondered how long that would remain true for. Neville gave a weak smile as well, but Ron just looked disappointed; he didn’t get to go on that particular adventure.

“Second, more items have been added to the ban list, per Mr. Filch’s request. You will find the full list of items in his office, should you wish to visit.”

“Fat chance of that,” Ron said, “He’ll punish you just for coming to ask.”

“Third, I must once again remind you all that the casting of spells is absolutely forbidden in the hallways between class periods. First years are not allowed a broom, nor to try out for their house Quidditch teams, without special exceptions. Try outs will begin two weeks into term. Ask your house Quidditch captain for more details.”

“Furthermore, our detention policy has been revised by the school governors. No student shall be assigned a detention or punishment without first approval from the immediate guardians of the student. And, yes, this does mean your parents will be notified for _every_ infraction of the rules. The only exception is the deduction of points, from which they will receive a list of all gains and deductions you have achieved at the end of every month.”

Lily frowned, exchanging a look with Ron and Neville.

“When did that happen?” she asked Percy.

“I don’t know,” he responded, “But I do wish he at least told us Prefects before now. How are we supposed to get our duties done if we aren’t informed of changes in policy?”

There was quite a bit of grumbling going around the room, and Dumbledore raised his hand to silence it all. Lily took note that not even the staff seemed pleased about that particular change. She also noticed Hagrid, the groundskeeper, waving at her, and she returned it. He was a rather large man, almost a giant. He had a big, bushy beard and small, beady eyes that always managed to radiate warmth regardless. She wondered when she’d get an invite for a spot of tea.

“I know this displeases you all, but keep in mind it has been implemented to keep you on your best behavior, as well as to give your parents and guardians more input on how the school is run.”

“Now Gran’s going to hear everything,” Neville said anxiously. Lily felt for him, even if she no longer had to worry about that particular issue.

“You think you have it bad,” Ron said, “mum will be hearing about the twins _daily_ , think about them.”

Lily couldn’t help but wonder who would be receiving _her_ reports. Imagining Dumbledore writing a letter to himself about her behavior gave her a smile. Imagining Dumbledore calling her up to his office to scold her took that smile away. _At least it won’t be McGonagall_ , she thought. She liked their head of house well enough, but she was far more strict than Lily would have liked.

“Lastly, a reminder that the forbidden corridor on the third floor is no longer forbidden and you may, once again, travel it without fear of a very painful death. Now, let us sing, and then off to bed you shall go.”

Dumbledore waved his wand to make the lyrics appear in the air. Lily smiled, standing with the rest of the students. This was her favorite part of the feast, although she had been briefly worried they wouldn’t do it every year. Every student picked a different tune with which to sing their school anthem. Lily chose a pop song she heard on the radio long ago, although she couldn’t have given the title of it.

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_ _  
Teach us something please  
Whether we be old and bald  
Or young with scabby knees  
Our heads could do with filling  
With some interesting stuff  
For now they're bare and full of air  
Dead flies and bits of fluff  
So teach us things worth knowing  
Bring back what we've forgot_   
_Just do your best, we'll do the rest_   
_And learn until our brains all rot_

Lily felt like she finished far too quickly. She finished well before Neville and Ron and most certainly before Fred and George. They were the last to finish this year, just like the last, due to their insistence on using a slow funeral dirge. Dumbledore conducted them to the very end, smiling widely all the while.

“And with that,” Dumbledore said at last, tucking his wand into his sleeve, “It’s time for bed. We shall see you all tomorrow.”

“First years, follow me,” Percy barked as he stood, striding off down the table. “Gryffindor first years, this way please.”

“Prat,” Ron whispered as he stood. Neville stretched as he did so, and Lily copied him.

“What did he do this time?” Lily asked.

“Nothing,” Ron admitted, “But he’ll earn it soon enough, just you wait.”

“Do we know what the password is yet?” Neville asked.

Lily and Ron both went silent as they followed the rest of the group, exiting the Great Hall and beginning to climb the grand staircase upwards to the top floor where their tower dormitory awaited. It was at moments like these, when she was stuffed and exhausted, where she wouldn’t have minded being in a different house. There were _far_ too many steps ahead of them.

“We’ll find out when we get there,” Lily said cheerfully, despite her ruminations. “Someone will know it, surely.”

“What classes do you think we’ll have tomorrow?” Ron asked. “If it’s Potions, I’m skipping. I can’t take Snape on the first day of the year.”

“You can’t skip that early,” Lily scolded him, “Your mum will send a howler if you get detention that early.”

“Fred and George will have one by the end of tonight, what’s it matter if I get one?” Ron asked.

“She expects more from you,” Lily said with a deep breath. They were on the third floor now, and she was finding it difficult to keep. She really hadn’t gotten much exercise over the summer. Wood definitely wouldn’t appreciate that.

“Miss Potter,” a sharp voice called from behind.

Lily groaned, but turned to face Professor McGonagall. The Transfiguration professor was wearing the same, dark green robe she’d worn for the sorting last year, with the same shade of hat adorning her head. Her spectacles were perched precariously on the tip of her nose, as always, which served to give her an air of authority, as if she was always analyzing everything you said and did. It always made Lily uncomfortable.

“Yes, Professor?” Lily asked sweetly.

“The Headmaster needs to see you in his office before you retire,” McGonagall said, placing a hand on Lily’s back and leading her ahead of the crowd. Neville and Ron waved in disbelief as she left them.

“Professor, I haven’t done-“

“We know, Potter,” McGonagall said in a tone less severe than the usual. She gave a smile that Lily thought was meant to be relieving, but she wasn’t at all used to seeing the older lady smile, so it had the opposite effect. “The Headmaster simply has something he needs to go over with you, and believes it is imperative that we do so now.”

Lily bit her lip, trying to think of what Dumbledore could possibly have to say to her. “Did he say what it was about, Professor?”

“He did not,” McGonagall answered. Lily looked around her, noticing the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students nearby seemed to be staring and talking about her. She couldn’t blame them of course. She couldn’t imagine someone being escorted by their head of house to the headmaster’s office was a normal occurrence before term even began.

Lily hoped this wouldn’t reach the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, although she knew that it would. She was just lucky they’d have to wait to hear about it; only Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were on the upper floors.

It was slow moving at first, until the Ravenclaws turned off at the fifth floor to head to their own common room. Then they only had the Gryffindors to deal with. They kept staring and whispering as well, but they quickly made way for their head of house. McGonagall gave a stern nod to a few students, although Lily didn’t know their names. Katie gave a wave and a smile as they passed her, which Lily eagerly returned. She was sad to see the smile dip once Katie saw _who_ Lily was walking with. Lily never saw any of her fellow second year girls.

They turned right at the seventh floor as the rest of the Gryffindors turned left. McGonagall was still leading Lily along, but she was fine with that. She had no idea where Dumbledore’s office was. She didn’t even know it was on the same floor as her dorm.

Lily had never been down this way, even though she lived up here. Exploring the same floor never seemed very exciting, compared to the rest of the school. The paintings here seemed rather bored with their lives, with lots of yawning and general meandering chatter. They didn’t even perk up as two people walked by. Lily did jump when a suit of armor coughed at her, but McGonagall pushed her along soon after.

They approached a solitary gargoyle, one which Lily had never seen before, and stood before it. Lily thought it looked kind of cute, to be honest. It certainly wasn’t fearsome like she thought they were supposed to be. It was smooth all over instead of jagged like she’d seen pictures of.

“Fudge flies,” McGonagall said, leaving Lily confused.

“What’s-“ she started to say. Then, the gargoyle hopped out of the way, revealing a spiral staircase heading upwards and leaving Lily’s mouth opened in surprise. McGonagall continued leading Lily onwards, walking the both of them up the stairs. She stopped once they reached the top, knocking twice sharply on an old, wooden door.

“Come in,” Dumbledore’s voice called from inside.

“Go ahead, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said. “The password for when you return to the common room is ‘Abacus.’”

McGonagall left her standing there, heading back down the stairs. Lily could hear the gargoyle jump back into place below.

Lily took a gulp, then pushed the door open. Dumbledore’s office was full of interesting instruments and devices, none of which Lily would be able to describe or name. The closest she could get was a rather large telescope sitting at the very back and up some stairs, but it was way too bendy to be a normal telescope. There was a set of comfy looking armchairs sitting in the corner closest to Lily, with a nice tea set on the table. Lily thought she recognized it from somewhere.

The walls were also lined with portraits, some of which were conversing with each other, some of which were sleeping, and all of which had a label with a name on them. Lily recognized a few of them from _Hogwarts: A History_ from the section on previous headmasters. Armando Dippet, for instance, was the headmaster right before Dumbledore. His portrait was situated directly behind Dumbledore’s desk, where the current headmaster was currently sitting, staring at Lily with a kind smile upon his lips.

“Ah, Lily, just in time,” Dumbledore said, waving his wand at the armchairs in the corner. The best looking one moved forward, sweeping Lily off her feet (earning a squeak of fright from the girl) and placing itself directly in front of Dumbledore’s desk.

“I apologize for the haste,” Dumbledore said, “But I’m afraid we must get right to business.”

“What’s that, Professor?” Lily asked, pointing to an ugly, molting bird Dumbledore had sitting in another corner. It looked over, giving them both a pathetic gaze. Lily was worried it could die at any moment.

“That is Fawkes, Lily,” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. “He is a phoenix, and my lifelong companion. Soon enough, he will burst into flame and be reborn anew. I think he is a couple months off just yet, however. A shame you had to see him so close to a burning day. He is usually quite beautiful.”

The bird squawked, a harmonic tone that comforted Lily, as if he appreciated the complement even if he didn’t currently match it. Lily looked around the room, spying the sorting hat sitting on a shelf near the ceiling.

“How did you get up here so quickly, Professor?” Lily asked, eyeing the aged and weathered cap. It seemed to stare back, even if it didn’t have eyes.

“The Headmaster has access to a multitude of secret passages not known by the others who inhabit it,” Dumbledore said, leaning back into his chair. “I believe the only ones who know of them are the twins and, if I am indeed right, soon to be _you_.”

“Me, Professor?” Lily asked nervously. _Surely he can’t know about the map already_ , Lily thought, _I haven’t even gotten to use it yet._

“We shall leave that discussion for the future, I think.” Dumbledore leaned forward. Lily knew he only did that when he wanted to seem more serious, and it did in fact have the proper reaction. Lily’s questions vanished from her mind. She was just waiting for the Headmaster to begin what she was called here for.

“Lily,” Dumbledore began, “Have you, as I feared you might, decided to leave the Longbottoms?”

Lily stared down at her feet. She should have known this was what it was about. She rubbed her left thumb with her right, trying to find something to occupy her suddenly restless hands. “Yes, sir,” she mumbled.

“Is there any chance of you returning to their protection?” he asked.

Lily stayed silent, staring down at her boots. Her left one had a scuff on it; she didn’t know where it came from. She heard Fawkes cry in the corner again, but it didn’t make her feel any better this time.

“How did you find out?” Lily asked, if only to buy herself some time to think.

“The Weasleys wrote me,” Dumbledore explained. “I would have thought Augusta would be the one to bring it up, but she only confirmed it _after_ I asked her. She said you’d been, in her terms, _obstinate_. She also said you’d been a pertinent troublemaker, making up stories for attention and refusing to behave properly, as befits a lady of your stature.”

Lily shuffled her feet around, not wanting to look up at the headmaster. She could imagine his piercing, blue eyes staring straight into her soul already.

“She never believed me about anything,” Lily mumbled. “I didn’t do anything, Professor, honest.”

“I believe you, Lily,” Dumbledore said. That did make Lily look up. Dumbledore was looking at her calmly, giving a warm smile.

“You do, Professor?”

“It is true, Lily, that you got into your fair share of trouble last year. And, I have no doubt, that you’ve told your fair share of lie, as well. But I do not believe you did anything worse than what a normal girl your age would have done. And I certainly do not believe you capable of the malicious things Augusta believes you have done.”

Lily sniffed, suddenly feeling emotional. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“You are sure there is nothing I can do to see you back at the Longbottom’s, Lily?” Dumbledore asked again.

“No,” Lily answered in a thick voice.

“Then we shall find you somewhere else,” Dumbledore responded, leaning back into his chair.

“Can- can-“ Lily stuttered.

“Take your time, Lily,” Dumbledore said. “Deep breaths, if you need them.”

Lily did as he suggested, taking a deep breath to steady herself. “Can I stay with the Weasleys?” she asked, afraid to look up again. She didn’t want to see his refusal.

“Of course you can, Lily,” Dumbledore said instead. Lily looked up quickly, smiling even though her brain was telling her to doubt it. Dumbledore smiled back. “They have already offered to take you in. If you wish it, I will let them know, and they’ll have your room ready for you by Christmas time.”

“I- I-“ Lily said, stammering again. She had to wipe her eyes one more time.

“It is quite alright, Lily,” Dumbledore said. “It is only natural, what you are feeling. You have had a lot of hardship in your life, for one so young.”

Lily took another deep breath, closing her eyes so the stinging would go away. She didn’t know why she had feared this conversation so much; she never, in her wildest dreams, expected it to go this well.

“There is one thing I feel I must explain to you, Lily,” Dumbledore said, clearing his throat while he interrupted Lily’s thoughts.

Lily opened her eyes to look at the headmaster. She found her throat closed up, and she was unable to speak. She hoped only that Dumbledore wasn’t about to bring her back into reality.

“I’m afraid you may have understood how your guardianship works,” Dumbledore clarified. “I know I said it is your decision, but that was only because I intended to do as you wished. When your parents died, they left the guardianship in the hands of another. But as they were indisposed, and by the terms of their will, the role passed onto me.”

“Professor?” Lily asked thickly, not quite understanding.

“I could not take you in myself, seeing as how I live at Hogwarts. And, with your mother’s protection, I would not have been the best choice anyway. I passed the guardianship role onto your Aunt, relieving myself of the rights and duties that had been left to me.”

“Professor-“ Lily began, shaking her head. She didn’t want to hear this.

“Apologies, Lily, but I must finish. I did not expect them to treat you the way that they did. As I told you last year, I knew they might treat you a bit differently than I would have liked, for certain, but I still expected them to treat you with some semblance of love and care. To my great shame, they did not. I will never be sorry enough for that failure. Be that as it may, however, if your mother’s protection still remained, I would have returned you to them over the summer.”

“Professor-“ Lily said again, shaking her head more violently. She didn’t want to think about the Dursleys, not ever again.

“I apologize again, Lily. The protection kept you safe, and I wanted that for you above all else. But, last summer, they renounced you, as you know. When they did so, the guardianship reverted back to me, as your parents wanted. It remains there. When I said you had the choice, it was only because I intended to put you wherever you wanted to be. The choice, however, does ultimately lie with me.”

“I’m not going back, Professor,” Lily said quietly. She eyed her boots again, trying to figure out where the scuff came from.

“Nor will you, Lily,” Dumbledore said. “If you wish, I will transfer the guardianship fully over to the Weasleys, and I will no longer have any say in your parental matters.”

Lily remained quiet. She didn’t know if she wanted Dumbledore to have them, to be honest, not after how he left her with the Dursleys without once checking in on her or even caring if she was mistreated. But he _did_ seem to be trying now. He wasn’t going to make her go back to Gran.

“I shall let you think on it,” Dumbledore said after the silence went on too long. “For now, I think it is time you head to your dorm. Your friends will be waiting for you.”

Lily said a hurried goodbye, then quickly left, staring at her feet so she wouldn’t have to look at anything. She could hear the portraits whispering among themselves up until she closed the door behind her. Only then did she look up, as she was making her way down the stairs.

The common room was packed and noisy when she arrived, full of students greeting each other and catching up. All of the good spots near the fireplace were taken, but Neville and Ron were waiting for her at a table in the back corner, playing a game of wizard chess to pass the time. It wasn’t a great place; it always had a chill to it.

Lily took a seat anyway, leaning back in her chair as she did so. She closed her eyes to gather her nerves.

“What did Dumbledore want?” Ron asked. “Check, by the way.”

“He- He said, he-“ Lily stammered, trying to close her eyes more tightly.  
“Take a breath, Lily,” Neville said.

“Checkmate,” Ron said.

“He wanted to ask where I plan to stay over the holidays,” Lily muttered. She didn’t want the rest of the students to hear, even if Ron and Neville both deserved an explanation.

“Is that all?” Ron asked. “I was worried he was going to confiscate your cloak again.”

“He never did that, that was McGonagall,” Lily muttered.

“What did you say?” Neville asked.

“And what’s this about needing a place to stay, anyway?” Ron asked. “I thought you were staying with Neville.”

Lily shook her head. “I left. I- I couldn’t be around Gran anymore.”

“I don’t blame you,” Neville said. “She’s not so bad all the time, but she was worse with you. I didn’t get it.”

“Where are you going now, then?” Ron asked.

Lily’s eyes opened, flickering over briefly to Ron. “Your parents offered to take me in,” she answered.

“Excellent,” Ron said, smiling widely. “We’ll have to go back for Christmas, then, you’ll love it. Mum makes the best-“

“Where’s Ginny?” Lily asked, looking around. She didn’t see any of the first years in the common room.

“Up in her dorm,” Neville answered.

“She’s moping,” Ron said tersely. “She’s upset that we didn’t wait for her. She thinks it’s our fault she missed out on the boats.”

“That’s-“ Lily began.

“I know,” Ron interrupted. “She’ll come around, give her a couple days. But, anyway, about Christmas-“

Lily stood up. She didn’t really want to talk about Christmas right now. “I’m going to head to bed. It’s been a long time.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ron said glumly, turning back to the chessboard now that Neville put everything back into position. “See you tomorrow, then.”

Lily hesitated, still standing next to the table.  
“Ron?” she asked.

“Hmm?” Ron hummed. He moved one of his pawns across the board.

“Why didn’t you tell me your dad was facing an enquiry?”

Ron paused, hand hovering over one of his bishops. He turned to look at her, lips drawn to a line. “You head about that, huh?”

“Hermione mentioned it was in the paper,” Lily admitted.

“Figures half the school would know,” Ron grumbled. “Don’t worry about it, Lily, dad reckons nothing will happen. He already found a second hand book to prove where Ginny learned the spell.”

“But she didn’t-“ Lily argued.

“We know, Lily,” Ron cut her off, “But it’s better this way. You’d get into a lot of trouble if they thought it was you. And Ginny doesn’t mind, she was just angry that you blinded her. She’s over that now, though. Now she’s just angry about the _train_.”

“But your dad-“

“Will be fine,” Ron interrupted, moving another pawn. “Look, they just didn’t want you to worry. If it’ll make you feel better, you should write to them about it. They’ll tell you everything.”

“I’ll do that now, then,” Lily said, determined. She could use the cloak and sneak up to the Owlery. If she was lucky, they’d even write back quickly. She might even get a letter tomorrow morning.

Lily stormed up the girl’s staircase, throwing the door open to the second year’s dorm. Lavender and Parvati were sitting on the former’s bed, chatting about something. Lavender, unfortunately, had Weasley’s plushie sitting in her lap. Lily pretended not to say, tossing her trunk onto her mattress and throwing the lid open.

“Where’s Weasley?” Lavender asked sweetly. “I brought him some new treats, I wanted to see if he liked them.”

“I’ll explain later,” Lily said. “I don’t have the time right now, I have to-“

Lily froze, then rifled through her belongings once more. Something was missing, something very important.

“I don’t see him around,” Lavender said again. “Did somebody already let him out?”

“Did anybody come in here before you two?” Lily asked quickly, ignoring the cat issue for the moment.

“Nope!” Lavender answered in the same, sweet tone. She seemed proud of the fact.

“Hermione went down to the library,” Parvati answered. “Said she wanted to greet Madame Pince before curfew. But anybody could have come in, we just got here ourselves right before you did. We were talking with Dean and Seamus in the common room before.”

Lily pulled at her tie, really beginning to panic. She _knew_ she packed it, she even asked Ron before they left, and she _saw_ it there when she doublechecked, it _had_ to be here. She checked under the bed, hoping it fell out, hoping it was under there. It had to be.

“What’s wrong, Lily?” Lavender asked.

“Nothing,” Lily answered abruptly, hitting her head on the bedframe as she came back up. She rubbed the back of it as she slammed the lid of the trunk closed. She whirled, heading straight out and back into the common room. Maybe somebody else saw someone come in here.

The invisibility cloak was missing.


	11. The Start of Term

“For the last time, Lavender, I didn’t forget Weasley on purpose,” Lily said in an annoyed tone. She set her fork down, since she apparently couldn’t even get through a single breakfast without interruption. She was having a pleasant time before the other girl showed up. She still needed to read over the letter from home, but she couldn’t do that with Lavender standing nearby.

“But he’s-“ Lavender began, motioning with her hands to express her distress.

“I’m not talking about this anymore,” Lily said, setting her fork down. “You can see him again after Christmas, I’ll make sure to bring him.”

Lavender huffed, but she turned to stomp back off to where Parvati was sitting. The Indian girl whispered some comforting words, then smiled apologetically at Lily once Lavender was sitting back down. She was almost as sick of the arguing as Lily was, and they were only on the first day of term. Lily wondered if asking for a picture of the feline from the Burrow would do anything to calm her down. She didn’t know if she could stand a full semester of arguing with Lavender.

“How long has that been going on?” Ron asked, sitting down across from her. His tie was askew, and he yawned widely as he began piling food onto his plate. Neville joined shortly after, dressed far more properly (but looking just as tired). Lily was an hour into her own meal; she woke up as Hermione closed the door to their dorm shut. She was hoping to find the other girl down here, but she had no such luck.

“All night,” Lily said, picking her fork back up. “I hope that’s the end of it, I can’t take much more.”

“Where’s Hermione?” Neville asked, looking around for her. Lily could feel her lips frown, but she tried to force a smile back onto them. No need to make Neville feel bad for an innocent question.

“Not back to normal yet,” Lily said. “She didn’t wake me up, and I couldn’t find her anywhere.”

“Did you check the library?” Ron asked.

“No, I thought I’d give her some space if she was in there,” Lily said, taking a bit of egg. They were starting to get a bit cold. Lily cursed Lavender’s name for it.

“What’s that letter?” Ron asked, pointing at the brown envelope. He had a look of suspicion hidden in his squinting face.

“It’s from your mother,” Lily admitted.

“She wrote back already?” Ron asked. “Usually takes me a few days to get one.”

“Mine was urgent, wasn’t it?” Lily asked snidely. “We don’t all write home about our-“

“Don’t you start,” Ron interrupted, his ears turning red. Neville grew a smirk of his own, quickly replaced with a yawn as his pudgy face stretched.

“You aren’t eating, Neville?” Lily asked, noticing his empty plate still sitting before him.

“I can’t eat yet,” Neville mumbled, eyes cast down. “If we have Snape first, I won’t be able to keep it down.”

“We’ll find out soon enough, mate,” Ron said, placing a hand on Neville’s shoulder in comfort.

Lily set her fork down, cracking upon the wax seal on her letter. _Best to get it over with_ , Lily thought, hearing the phrase in Mrs. Weasley’s voice.

_Dear Lily,_

_We’re sorry we didn’t tell you about the enquiry, dear, but we thought it best not to worry you. Arthur reckons it won’t be an issue for much longer, and we’ll all be laughing about it soon enough. He said he has a few friends in the department doing the investigation, and they’ve all been having a nice laugh with him about the whole thing. Try to keep it out of your mind._

_As for Weasley, don’t you worry one bit about him. We found him in the garden, playing with the gnomes. I don’t think he ever even realized we left without him. We’ll make sure to take good care of him until you return for the Holidays._

_Sorry for the short letter, dear, I’ll make sure to send you a longer one later, I just wanted to make sure you got this one right away. Make sure you give Errol a nice, long sip of water before you send him back off._

_Much Love,_

_Molly_

Well, that made Lily feel a bit bad. She sent Errol off without offering him a single thing. She hoped he at least went to the Owlery to rest; she’d hate for the Weasley owl to die just because she didn’t think to water it.

“Weasley is okay,” Lily told the two boys, who were eagerly awaiting this news with every fiber of their beings.

“Course he is,” Ron said, mouth stuffed with food, not so much as glancing over at Lily.

“When did you write home?” Neville asked sleepily.

“Mate, we discussed it last night,” Ron said with a roll of his eyes. “She wanted to write home about the enquiry, remember?”

“Oh,” Neville mumbled. “Is it fine?”

Lily opened her mouth to answer the question.

“If it wasn’t, she would have mentioned it first, wouldn’t she?” Ron interrupted. “I told you not to worry about it, didn’t I? Dad will be fine.”

“But what if Ginny gets in-“

“Fred and George blew up the shed right after they got their wands,” Ron interrupted once more. “They were practicing their charms when mum wasn’t looking, and then _boom!_ I lost my eyebrows to it, and mum almost didn’t let them come to Hogwarts. Nothing ever happened to them.”

“How did you lose you eyebrows?” Lily asked curiously, interested in a new subject. She could refocus herself later on, but this needed to come first. She knew her priorities.

“I was trying to help them,” Ron admitted. “They said they’d let me have a turn if I read them the instructions. Anyway, my point is early magic happens _all the time_. Dad told us the Ministry doesn’t really start enforcing the rule until after your first year at Hogwarts.”

“Why didn’t you say any of that last night?” Lily asked. “It would have saved us all a lot of-“

“I was worried you’d write mum about it,” Ron cut her off. “We’re not really _supposed_ to know about it, you know?”

“How would the Ministry even know we were doing magic outside of school?” Lily asked. “I was doing magic all summer before St. Mungo’s, but never heard so much as a peep.”

“I dunno,” Ron said, shrugging his shoulders. “Dad refused to talk about it when Fred and George asked, but he said he’d report us personally if he ever found out.”

Lily scoffed. “And then he went and blamed his own daughter instead of ratting me out?” She didn’t know if she should thank him for that yet; Ginny was still ignoring her, although that could still be for the train thing. She’d have to find time to ask later.

“He’ll have to think of something else before the summer, or Fred and George will be taking full advantage of it,” Ron said.

“McGonagall is passing out the schedules now,” Neville said, nudging Ron. Lily and Ron both turned as once, watching their head of house make her way down the table. She was wearing a green robe and a matching hat, same as almost every time Lily has seen her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she only own green robes.

Lily quickly pressed on the knot of her tie, having it tighten around her neck to avoid a scolding from McGonagall, noticing Ron didn’t bother sorting his out. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she stuck out her tongue. She would have risked a ruder gesture, but McGonagall was almost to them now.

“Good morning,” the professor said as she reached the three of them, handing them each a sheet of paper. McGonagall paused, her thin lips changing into a slight smile as her eyes panned over Lily. “I see your attire is in order, Miss Potter. Good work. It seems you’ve finally learned to keep it together. A point for Gryffindor.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Lily said, feeling guilty about cheating now. She hoped that feeling wouldn’t last. She resisted the urge to tug at her neckline; the tightening feature was nice, but it clung to her neck rather tightly.

“I’ll be taking more if you let me find it _out_ of order, as a word of warning. I shall see you all momentarily.” McGonagall nodded, then continued down the table, handing out more schedules.

“How come she never goes for you?” Lily snapped upon noticing Ron’s grin. The boy was too busy ignoring her, going over this year’s class schedule with a growing expression of horror.

Ron groaned, letting some of his emotions out. “Double Transfiguration _and_ double Charms back to back?” That made Lily glance down at her own schedule, letting out a similar noise once she saw the results.

“ _And_ we have Herbology right after,” Lily said, joining the dismay. She didn’t much enjoy that particular subject, even if it was Neville’s favorite. In fact, Neville was the only reason for hers and Ron’s success the previous year; the Weasley lad didn’t much care for it, either.

“We won’t have time for lunch on Wednesdays,” Neville said. “It’ll be over by the time we get out of Herbology.”

“And then we still have History of Magic!” Ron said, laying his head down on the table. Lily pressed the knot against her neck, making the tie go loose again so she could breathe a little.

“Why are both Defense classes doubles?” Lily said. “We didn’t even have a single double last year.”

“Lockhart really _is_ full of himself,” Ron grumbled mutinously, eyes darting over to where the handsome professor was sitting. “He probably couldn’t bear having shorter lessons.”

“Mondays and Wednesdays are terrible,” Neville said optimistically, “But at least we’re done at lunch Tuesdays and Thursdays.”  
“It’s the small blessings,” Ron agreed. “That Monday is absolutely awful. Astronomy, followed the next day by double Potions? First thing in the morning? That’s torture, that is.”

“It could have been History of Magic,” Lily said. “Then we’d definitely fall asleep.” History of Magic was their only class taught by a ghost, and a rather boring one at that. Every student, with the exception of Hermione, had problems staying awake during any lecture hosted by Professor Binns.

“I’d take Binns over Snape,” Neville said darkly, eyes darting back down to the schedule. Lily didn’t know why he was complaining so much. _He_ wasn’t the one who had their least favorite class as the first one of the new year. Lily just hoped McGonagall would go easy on them.

“They could have just moved Wednesday’s Herbology to Monday, and we’d have plenty of time for lunch,” Ron complained, smacking the paper with his free hand as he raised his voice in contempt.

“We’re done much earlier this year, at least,” Lily said, “Even if everything is packed closer together. We might actually be able to keep up with our homework.”

“I wonder if that means we’ll be getting the mornings off next year,” Ron said, losing his grumpy voice. He _did_ enjoy sleeping in, didn’t he?

“Did Fred and George have them off last year?,” Lily asked, motioning to the two now-fourth-years sitting further down the table, going over their own schedules. They were smiling and joking about something with their friend, Lee Jordan, and the three Gryffindor Chasers (from last year), Angelina, Alicia, and, of course, Katie.

Lily’s motion caught Katie’s eye, and she waved eagerly, shooting a bright smile her way. Lily returned it, feeling pleased with herself. She turned back to Ron and Neville once Katie turned back to her own friends.  
“What was that about?’ Ron asked curiously.

“What was what about?” Lily asked curiously, mimicking Ron’s eyebrow movements as best she could. She threw him a sweet smile, piling some more eggs on her plate as she maintained eye contact.

“We should probably head to class,” Ron said, shaking his head, breaking the contest first. Lily always knew he was weak. He grabbed his grab, slinging it over his shoulder. Neville followed suit, picking up his plate to shove the last remaining bits in his mouth. Lily mimicked that action herself, downing a cup of pumpkin juice afterwards.

“Since when do you want to get to class so early?” Lily said, grabbing her own, much heavier bag as she stood up to follow the two boys.

“Best to get it over with,” Ron grumbled. “We’ll be in classes for hours.”

Transfiguration was both worse and better than Lily expected. The Gryffindors had the class to themselves, and they spent the period reviewing material from last year. Lily even got _Avifors_ to work on her first try, something that made her immensely proud.

Unfortunately, Lily could _not_ be proud of the rest of her work. She only managed to get a few spells to work at all, and those after repeated attempts. Her eyes stung briefly when Lavender sniggered at her, but she felt better about it when McGonagall deducted a point for it. Even so, though, Lily had to admit that she was still struggling with the subject. McGonagall assigned her extra homework for the day, to “help her” figure everything out.

Lily had the opposite experience in Charms; she was _exempted_ from this week’s homework, on account of her excellent work both the year before and during their practice session. Flitwick clapped his hands together in excitement as she made her pineapple dance across the room. Lily was proud of that as well; she didn’t get to show off very often. She quite enjoyed the grumpy face Lavender was making, and she had her own turn to snigger when Lavender had trouble getting her own pineapple to so much as wiggle.

Lily packed her things up slowly as the Gryffindors filed out of the room, followed shortly after by the Ravenclaws. This was the first of their shared classes, although she was sure it wouldn’t be the last. She waved Ron and Neville ahead; she’d meet them at the greenhouses soon enough.

“Professor, could I ask a question?” Lily asked, taking the chance while they were alone. A thought occurred to her over the summer, and now seemed like her best chance to test it, since she was currently on good footing with the professor.

“Of course, Miss Potter, of course,” Flitwick said in a cheerful tone. Lily thought he was small last year, when she already towered him, but his miniscule stature was becoming even more obvious the more she grew. She barely had to incline her head at all, even with the professor standing on a pile of books.

“I have a couple of advanced charms books,” Lily said, pulling out the one she had just received for her birthday. He already knew about the previous one, since he picked it out for Hermione. “I was wondering if you could help me learn a few, just in our spare time?”

Flitwick took the book, quickly flipping through to get a good idea of what it contained. The book was almost half his size, Lily noticed, although it _was_ a rather large book. To be frank, Lily wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten it into her bag, or how she’d get it back in now that it was out. The professor twirled his moustache as he flipped through the pages, levitating it in front of him with his wand.

“I’ll have to go over it this weekend,” Flitwick said, placing the book on his desk, wish a quick flick of his wand. “Some of it seems beyond your current level, but I should be able to find something for you to work on.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Lily said, feeling relieved. Flitwick was always very nice to her, but even so, she didn’t actually expect him to say yes. There was always a tension in her chest anytime she had to have a discussion with an adult at all, always a nagging sense of doubt.

“Don’t thank me, yet,” Flitwick said, trying to sound stern. Lil felt the nerves come back. “I haven’t accepted yet, and I am rather busy. But I think I can find the time for at least one session every month. That’s assuming you keep up with your other work, of course. I won’t have your Charms distracting you from other classes.”

Lily bit her lip. She’d been hoping for more frequent lessons, and she didn’t expect the restrictions at all. She couldn’t help but fear McGonagall would ruin this opportunity for her. “But, Professor-“

“No arguing, Miss Potter,” Flitwick said, sitting at his desk and shuffling through some papers. “Keep your Transfigurations marks up, and I will gladly teach you some advanced Charms. You better head off, now, or you’ll be late for Herbology.”

“You’re doomed,” Ron said over the plant they were working on. Herbology did _not_ start off with a review, and they jumped straight into Leaping Toadstools. They were rather a pain, Ron and Lily agreed, but Neville seemed to have a knack for getting them to hold still long enough to pile soil on them.

“I know,” Lily said, sighing as her toadstool once again jumped free of its pot. Lily thought they were rather ugly, with squashed, grumpy faces and large, red hats on their heads. They weren’t hats, of course, but Lily didn’t know what else to call them, she wasn’t paying attention when Professor Sprout was describing them.

“If you just keep studying, you’ll at least pass all the written assignments,” Neville said, “And so long as you’re passing, why would Flitwick refuse you?”

“I wish I wasn’t so bad at it,” Lily said. “Why can’t I be good at it, like Charms?”

“Who knows?” Ron said. “Can’t be good at everything, can you? Can you hand me those pliers?”

Lily tried to hand over the pliers, but Neville put a hand on hers ever so gently, forcing her to set them back down.

“We’ll be starting Mandrakes next week,” Neville said, taking over Ron’s work for him. Ron tore his gloves off his hands, happy to let someone else take over. Lily continued fussing over hers grumpily, upset that Neville took mercy on Ron instead of her.

“Mandrakes?” Ron asked. “I thought those were deadly. Dad said-“

“They’re only deadly when they’re fully grown,” Neville explained. “Professor Sprout said we’d be dealing with the babies, and then the upper years would be take over as they grew.”

“Oh, good,” Ron said. “Good to know our deaths have been delayed until seventh year.”

“You really think you’ll be taking a NEWT in Herbology?” Lily said, scrunching her eyebrows together as the toadstool gnawed at her gloved hand. “You barely passed the first year.”

Lily, for one, fully intended on dropping the class as soon as she was able to; she hated coming back to the dorm covered in sweat and dirt every day, and she really, _really_ hated tending to gardens. Even when she was trying to help Neville back home, she always gave up as quickly as she thought she could get away with. She chalked that up to Petunia forcing her to tend theirs back when she lived with the Dursleys. At the very least, the ponytail made dealing with the class easier, since she no longer got _quite_ as sweaty.

“How’d you find out about the NEWTs?” Ron asked shrewdly. “I thought you didn’t know anything about the wizarding world.”

“Ron, I read,” Lily said, blushing. That was certainly not the turn in conversation she had expected.

“That, and Percy’s been freaking out about his OWLs all summer, hasn’t he?” Neville added, Lily nodding her head in agreement. “Hardly saw him at all the entire time we were visiting.”

“I still don’t buy it,” Ron said.

“Ron, the book you _just_ bought me has an entire foreword about preparing for the NEWTs,” Lily said. And she’d know that for certain, having read the whole thing over several times.

“Why does it have that?” Neville asked.

“Because most of the charms are NEWT level,” Lily explained. “You both picked some advanced work.”

“How are you supposed to get any of those, even with Flitwick’s help?” Ron asked.

“Well, there has to be _something_ in there I can get,” Lily said exasperatedly.

“And what about that spell that blinded you?” Ron asked. “That one didn’t seem very hard.”

Lily blushed again. “That- that was- it was easy, yes, but it’s that high up because of the drawbacks, I think.”

“So, naturally, the first thing you did was cast it on yourself,” Ron said.

“Well, I had to try it out, didn’t I?” Lily said. “And it worked, Dobby just ruined it.”

“Dobby?” Ron and Neville asked in unison, sharing a look with each other.

“Dobby,” Lily repeated in a tired, fed up tone. “The house elf? The one I told you about on the train?”

“Oh, right,” Ron said, scratching his chin. “The one that- err- pushed you down the stairs?”

“I-“ Lily started, raising a finger, then letting it fall back down. “I don’t even remember telling you about that part.”

“We discussed it while you were moping about Weasley,” Neville added, picking up Ron’s pot to set it on the ground next to his own. He pushed Lily aside so he could work on hers now that it was the only one remaining.

“If you discussed it, how’d you forget it?” Lily asked.

“Well, you only said the name once,” Ron answered. “We just called it the house elf.”

“Are you going to try it again?’ Neville asked.

“Pardon?” Lily asked, brow wrinkling in confusion.

“The charm that blinded you,” Neville reminded her. “The thing we were just discussing?”

“I don’t blame her for forgetting that one, mate,” Ron said, shaking his head. A toadstool leapt past them from nearby, Seamus quickly giving chase so it wouldn’t give away. Lily leaned against the wall to let him pass.

Lily leaned forward again once Seamus returned with his fungi, lowering her voice. “I was going to sneak out this weekend, actually, try out the map Fred and George gave me.”

“Map?” Neville and Ron asked together. They were getting quite good at that; they could almost give the twins a run for their money.

“Oh, right,” Lily said, blushing again. “I was supposed to keep that a secret.” She tried to avoid their eyes with her own, but she could feel them staring at her in anticipation.

“Well, now you have to tell us,” Ron said.

“Yeah, go on, Lily,” Neville agreed.

“No, I’ll keep it to myself for now, thank you very much,” Lily said, getting back to work and ignoring the pleas from the boys. Not that there was much work to do, of course, but she could at least pretend to be busy. It was something she was quite good at, actually.

History of Magic was nothing notable in the slightest; it was just as boring as it was last year. Lily had a hard time staying awake after their jampacked first day of classes. The only reason she didn’t nap like Ron was the hunger pangs; she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Just like Neville and Ron feared, it didn’t seem like they’d have time for lunch on Wednesdays.

“Finally,” Ron said as they left the classroom, stretching widely. His stray hand almost hit Lavender in the face as she tried to pass, and she huffed grumpily as she shot him a look. “I thought Binns would keep going until we were _all_ dead.”

“You slept through the whole thing, why are you complaining?” Lily grumbled. She was pretty sure _she’d_ be the one paying for Ron’s lack of attention.

“I caught the last ten minutes,” Ron said, scratching his nose. “Luckily Hermione wasn’t nearby to keep me from getting some shut-eye.”

“I could have used her, myself,” Neville said, rubbing at his eyes. He fell asleep during the class, too, but he hadn’t meant to. Nothing Lily did was capable of raising him from the dead; he only woke when the bell rang to signify the start of supper.

“Did anybody see where she was sitting?” Lily asked. “I haven’t seen her all day.” Lily tried to sit in the front of every class (except Herbology) in attempt to force the girl to talk to her, but it clearly hadn’t worked.

“She was in the corner, by herself,” Ron said.

“Why would she sit all the way back there?” Neville asked.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Ron said, motioning to the bushy-haired girl walking a few meters ahead of them.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Lily said shyly. She had no reason to feel so nervous about it, of course; she was pretty sure that if she just kept forcing the issue, Hermione would give up and talk to her again. She just wasn’t willing to do that. She wanted Hermione to _want_ to talk to her.

“Not you, Lily,” Ron said, nudging his friend with his elbow. “I meant Neville. She’s not mad at _him_ , is she?”

“I don’t know, actually,” Lily said, giving it a thought.

“Let’s find out,” Neville said, taking a deep breath and then walking ahead of his two companions. He was soon walking in step with Hermione, who seemed to be giving him very short responses to any inquiry he made.

“Really, how long is this going to last?” Ron asked. “We need her help with Transfiguration, she’s the only reason _we_ passed it last year.”

“You’ll just have to study with me,” Lily said, feeling slightly pleased. That was one good thing to come from this, she supposed. At the very least, she’d have more study partners.

Neville returned to the two of them before they reached the second floor, falling into step with them instead.

“How’d it go?’ Lily asked nervously.

“She said I’m welcome to study with her anytime,” he answered.

“And what about the two of us?” Ron asked far more confidently.

“She said if the two of you can find it in you to behave yourselves, she’d be more than welcome to associate with you once more,” he answered.

“Associate with us?” Ron scoffed. “Where does she get off?”

Lily felt a tingling in her scar as she tried to fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day’s activities. She was almost there, too, she could tell. She was even on the precipice of a dream, although she couldn’t recall what she was thinking about. She just knew it made her feel excited, and it _might_ have involved Quidditch, since Katie was there. The memory quickly faded into the background of her mind, and she chalked it up as another failed event. She never remembered her dreams. She finally fell back asleep later, listening to the sounds of Hermione writing on parchment and of Lavender softly snoring in the corner most bed.

Thursday morning came far too quickly, even if Lily woke up far later than she would have liked. There was only an hour left before classes start, and she was used to having a far longer meal than this while at Hogwarts. She stopped by the library to find Hermione, hoping to ask the other girl to wake her even if they weren’t talking, but she wasn’t there.

Lily found her sitting alone in the Great Hall when she arrived. She went to sit down next to her, but Hermione got up and left when she saw Lily coming. Lily watched her bushy hair turn out of the dining area, heading straight towards the entrance of the dungeons.

Lily sniffed, sitting down at the far end of the table. To be honest, she expected to feel more hurt, but she found she was annoyed instead. She settled on ignoring Hermione, too, since she was the one being obstinate. She felt much better once Ron and Neville arrived downstairs to join her. Even Ginny came down early, and Lily hadn’t seen her at all the previous day. She liked nice in the bright red of Gryffindor, Lily thought.

“How were classes, Ginny?” Lily asked as the youngest Weasley sat next to her. That was certainly a good sign. At least that was one less girl ignoring her now.

“They were fine,” Ginny answered. “Colin can be annoying, though, he wouldn’t stop asking about you after he found out you were staying in my room over the summer.”

“How’d he find that out?” Lily grumbled. She shot a glare at the mousy haired Gryffindor, who was sitting at the other end of the table with a few other first years. He was also wearing the red and gold of Gryffindor now, although it didn’t look as nice on him. He looked too small for the proud, brave colors. Of course, Lily was one to talk; she was smaller than he was when she arrived, even if she was already much bigger. Colin waved brightly when he noticed Lily staring at him, and she quickly turned away.

“I told him,” Ron said, between mouthfuls of food, looking far too pleased with himself.

Lily shot him a look of utter contempt. Ron shot her back a look of utter delight.

“Ron, why would you-“ she began.

“Did you have Lockhart, yet?” Ginny asked, cutting her off. Lily huffed, but went back to eating. “His class is really easy, all he did was give us a quiz and then talk for an hour about his adventures.”

“Not yet,” Neville said, taking the initiative on the response. “We have him today, though, right after Potions.”

“And then we have the rest of the day off,” Ron said, smiling dreamily. Lily knew what he was thinking about; he was dreaming of a nice, long nap in his nice, warm bed. She knew because she was thinking much the same.

“We have homework to do,” Lily said, trying to bring them both back to the cold, hard reality of their life. At the very least, she really needed to finish up her Transfiguration work before she relaxed, since McGonagall expected it all to be done by tomorrow.

Ron scoffed at the sheer thought of it. “It’s nice out, and you want to be cooped up inside?”

“Yes,” Lily said. “I need to get this Transfiguration work done, or McGonagall will-“

“You can finish it later, Lily, let’s go flying,” Ron complained. “I need some more practice before try outs if I’m going to stand a chance.”

“Fine,” Lily said, grumbling, “But you have to help me later, or I’m taking back my broom.” It seemed like a fair compromise to her, since she was the one who desperately needed to get some work done.

“You can’t do that, you already gave it up,” Ron said.

“That didn’t stop you from returning it several times over the summer,” Neville mumbled. Lily assumed he was speaking more quietly now that Ginny was here; he always did that around people he didn’t know well.

“Can I have it instead?” Ginny asked brightly, shooting Lily her best attempt at puppy-dog eyes. Lily just shook her head.

“First years aren’t allowed a broom,” Ron snapped.

“You’re just worried I’ll out fly you,” Ginny said.

“Cut it out,” Lily said. “You’re giving me a headache.”

As a matter of fact, she _did_ suddenly have a headache, although she didn’t know why. Her scar was hurting, and it was causing the whole thing to throb with a dull pain.

“What’s wrong?” Neville asked, looking worried.

“I dunno,” Lily said. “My scar hurts.”

Ron frowned, suddenly looking worried as well. “Didn’t that happen last year, too? You know, with Quirrell?”

“Yes,” Lily said, forcing the memory of Quirrell out of her brain as quickly as it came in. _Don’t think about it_ , she told herself once more.

“You don’t think he’s here, do you?” Neville asked, voice dropping to a whisper. Lily could feel her stomach drop at the mere mention of it.

“How could he, he’s a wanted criminal,” Ron said. “Dad thinks he’s not even in Britain right now, or they’d have found him already.”

Lily desperately needed a different topic; she could feel her body breaking out in a cold sweat, and it felt like a scream was building up deep inside her.

“Where did you get the Gryffindor tie and robe, Ginny?” she asked, hoping somebody would latch onto it.

“What do you mean?” Ginny responded, making the same look of confusion that all Weasleys were good at.

“You didn’t know you’d be in Gryffindor ahead of time,” Lily explained. “That’s why they had us buy all the black ones. Where’d you get the Gryffindor ones?”

“Lily, really?” Ron asked. “Where do you think you got yours?”

Lily couldn’t think of answer to that; she had no memory of ever receiving any. She was pretty sure she just put them on the next morning, not even noticing that they were different at all.

“The colors change when the hat sorts us, Lily,” Neville explained, deciding to have mercy on the poor girl.

“Oh,” Lily said, blushing. She supposed embarrassment was a better feeling than primal fear, at the very least.

“Really, now, how did you never notice?” Ron asked.

“Well, then, what about the spares?” Lily asked. “The ones we weren’t wearing? How did those get changed?”

“See, now that’s a better question,” Ron asked, taking a bite out of his toast. “If I had to take a guess, I’d say probably through magic. I’m sure we’ll learn a similar charm at some point. We could even ask _Percy_ , he’d probably know.”

“We should be going,” Lily said, standing up to save herself from any further embarrassment. “If we’re late for Potions on the first day, Snape will kill us.”

“I think you’d be exempt from that,” Ron said, sighing as he, too, stood up. He took one last, wistful look at his plate of food, then began to walk away, Neville following behind him.

“I’ll see you at lunch, then?” Ginny asked.

“See you later, Gin,” Lily said, waving as they left the cafeteria. She had to jog to catch up; Ron always set the pace of their walking, since he had by far the longest stride. Lily was worried she was done growing now; she didn’t get so much as an inch over the summer.

As Lily tried to enter the dungeons, rubbing at her still tingling scar, she ran into a Slytherin girl coming out of it, knocking the books right out of her hands.

“Sorry,” Lily said, quickly bending over to help her. Their heads knocked together, and she rubbed the sore spot. The other girl gave out a squak of surprise, then quickly got out of the way to let Lily scoop up all her things. Lily didn’t mind; it was her fault.

“Sorry,” she apologized again, handing over an armful of books. “You should carry a bag with you; I dropped my things all the time last year before I did.” Lily gestured with her head to her satchel. It was currently weighing her down heavily on one side. She had a tendency to lean with it, which probably didn’t help her balance.

“Thanks,” the smaller, Asian girl said. Lily gave her a once over as she took the books. She wore her short, black hair in a bob, Lily noticed, and the green and silver on her robes matched nicely with her green eyes. She was also blushing from the embarrassing scene, and was refusing to meet Lily’s own gaze. Lily couldn’t blame her; she would have been mortified if this happened to _her_ during the first year. _Merlin, I’m mortified that it happened_ now, she thought. She could see Ron and Neville sniggering ahead of her. At least they were the only witnesses.

“Sorry again,” Lily apologized once more, giving another rub on the sore spot of her head. At the very least, she couldn’t even feel her scar anymore now that something else hurt.

The girl’s eyes wandered up Lily’s face, locking onto Lily’s scar. That made her feel uncomfortable, so she apologized once more, pushing past the girl to where Ron and Neville were waiting.

“See you around, Potter,” the Slytherin girl called as they all walked away, trying to find their way to Professor Snape’s classroom.

“Nice to know not all the Slytherins are bad this year,” Lily said, feeling a little pleased. It didn’t outweigh the shame, of course, but it was a start.

Ron snorted at that. “Give her time. She’ll hate you like the rest of them soon enough.”

They found Hermione to be the only person currently waiting outside of the Potions classroom, but she didn’t look up as they entered the hallway. They took up position on the other side of the classroom, giving her some space. She seemed to be taking some notes in a small journal.

“What do you think she’s writing about?” Ron whispered, apparently also taking note of it.

“Who cares?” Lily asked, not returning the same volume. She heard Hermione sniff at that, but she tried not to let it bother her.

“Who’s your partner going to be, Lily?” Ron asked, no longer whispering.

“Err-“ Lily whined, happening to notice that Hermione’s quill stopped moving for a few seconds.

“You have to work with one of us,” Ron said. “We can’t do it without you, he’ll fail us.”

“Please choose me,” Neville said, looking pale. “I can’t handle Snape standing near me.”

“Well- Well, I was-“ Lily stammered.

“Just going to work with me,” Ron said quickly.

“I’ll go with Neville,” Lily said. “At least he isn’t pushing me into a decision.”

“Oh, come on,” Ron groaned. “What am I supposed to do, now?”

“Just sit next to us, Ron,” Lily said, rolling her eyes. “You know, like you did last year? I’ll still help you.”

The doors suddenly flung open, and Professor Snape was standing in the doorway, crooked nose and greasy hair framed by the dim-light of the dungeons. He was wearing all black, as usual, and looking rather dour.

“You three,” he barked in a commanding tone. “Quiet down, they can hear you all over the castle.”

“We were just-“ Ron began to argue.

“Three points from Gryffindor, Weasley,” Snape said.

“But-“ Ron started before receiving a sharp elbow from Lily.

“As for your seating arrangements,” Snape began, narrowing his eyes at the three of them, “ _I_ have decided to pick them for you this year.”

“You can’t just-“ Ron said, earning another elbow from Lily.

“Of course I can, Weasley. Don’t think I didn’t notice the high marks you earned last year, despite your absence of ability. No doubt Miss Potter was giving you instructions. You’ll be working with Miss Parkinson, I’m afraid.”

“ _Parksinson?”_ Ron said in disbelief. He looked about to argue again, so Lily gave him a harder elbow.

Snape smiled, showing off his yellow teeth. That was always unsettling; you _never_ wanted to make the Potions master smile. It was never a good sign. “Yes, Weasley, Parkinson. Longbottom will be with Granger, as much as I loathe it. If I gave him anyone else, it’s likely he’d kill us all.”

“See, Neville,” Lily said, feeling a little relieved herself, “Nothing to worry-“

“And you, _Potter,_ ” Snape interrupted, dark eyes focusing in on Lily. “You will be working with Mr. Malfoy.”

“ _Malfoy?”_ Lily said in shock. “You can’t-“ She was stopped from a quick elbow in her ribs, courtesy of Mr. Weasley. She rubbed at while she glared at the Potions professor, suddenly wondering why she’d ever defended him at all.

“I believe we’ve already determined that I _can_ ,” Snape responded. “Consider it a punishment for helping these two to cheat the system.”

Snape held the door open, ushering the four of them inside (for Hermione had stood up to join them upon hearing her name). Lily dragged her feet as she entered, making sure to show the professor just how displeased she was.

“Potter, left desk at the front. Granger and Longbottom, the front on the right. Weasley, left at the back. There will be no conversation prior to class time.”

Lily grumbled, sitting down at her designated workstation. From what she could tell, Neville seemed to be the only person happy with this arrangement, although Hermione didn’t seem _too_ displeased. Lily couldn’t help but noticing she was receiving a few too many self-satisfied smirks from the other girl. She could practically hear the lecture Hermione was giving in her head, and that didn’t please Lily _one bit_.

The rest of the class filed in slowly over time. Lavender and Parvati were separated and, much to their dismay, each assigned to Crabbe and Goyle, respectively. They were the last two Gryffindors to be sorted with a Slytherin; Seamus and Dean still managed to be together, while the remaining Slytherins had no one else to be sorted with from a different house. Lily thought it was an extremely unfair arrangement; they couldn’t help it that Slytherin received more first years than Gryffindor did during the previous sorting.

Malfoy looked just as unhappy with his partner as Lily had been, although he voiced no arguments to Professor Snape. He ran a hand over his slick, blonde hair as he sat down, trying his best to sneer confidently.

“You’re welcome, Potter,” he said.

Lily narrowed her eyes. “Pardon?”

“For the easy grade,” Malfoy said. “Clearly, Snape was trying to-“

Lily laughed, losing her composure and earning a sharp glare from Snape. That didn’t stop her, of course.

“What’s so funny, Potter?’ Malfoy grumbled.

“You didn’t even crack the top ten last year, Malfoy, whereas _I_ did,” Lily said, trying to regain the straight face she lost.

“That was only-“ Malfoy started, cheeks flushing.

“Because you were absolutely hopeless in the last two months,” Lily cut him off. “Don’t think I didn’t notice, we had the same class last year, too.”

“Watch yourself, Potter,” Malfoy whispered, trying to sound threatening. “You’re in Slytherin territory, now.”

“I’m so scared,” Lily said, rolling her eyes. When she saw the look Malfoy returned with, she decided it might be best to make peace with the boy. She didn’t want to spend all year dreading Potions; not when it was one of her best subjects. “Look, why don’t we just-“

“Silence,” Snape ordered, striding towards the front of the class. “Turn your books to page 32, and begin work on the Fire Protection Potion. Pay careful attention to the directions; one small mistake could turn your insides to ice. This is _not_ partner work. I expect each of you to brew it individually.” Snape’s eyes trailed over to where Neville was sitting.

Lily read over the summary, smiling to herself in a smug way. The potion seemed easy enough, but she already found several ways to improve upon it over the summer. And since Malfoy couldn’t screw this one up, she felt confident that it’d be an easy assignment.

Lily took far longer to make her Potion than she would have liked, unfortunately, mostly due to Malfoy’s interference. He kept extinguishing the flame under her cauldron, or replacing her finely curated ingredients with the ones he’d purposefully messed up. Since Snape was once again avoiding her table (the same thing he had done all last year), he was never caught in the act, and Lily couldn’t even try to complain about it.

She only finished at all because she started fighting back, abandoning the plan for peace, using a softening charm when the Slytherin boy wasn’t looking to ruin his cauldron. His potion melted right through the bottom, quickly spreading over the dungeon floor. Lily and Malfoy both had to hop up on their stools to avoid it, although Lily was pretty sure it wouldn’t do anything to their boots.

Snape wasn’t anywhere near as rough about it as he would have been for a Gryffindor, and still gave Malfoy half points for the day’s work. Lily, of course, received _full_ marks, although Snape made sure to mention that it wasn’t anywhere near up to snuff compared to the last year’s work.

“You’ll regret that one, Potter,” Malfoy whispered under his breath as Snape walked away, voice full of malice.

“Do your worst, Malfoy,” Lily responded, tone light and cheerful.

Whatever he was planning, he didn’t do it that day, and he flew out of the classroom before anybody else once the bell rang. Lily packed her bag up quickly, then trotted over to Ron at the end of the room as they waited for Neville.

“That was horrible,” Ron said.

“It could have been worse,” Lily countered, shrugging. She’d have to be on guard from now on, of course, but the first day wasn’t _too_ bad.

“Snape spent much longer at my table, I swear. Parkinson kept pointing out every little mistake I made, and he gave her a point for each one.”

“That’s awful,” Lily said, suddenly realizing her own time hadn’t been anywhere near as bad. Now she felt terrible, even though there’s nothing she could have done to prevent the situation.

“Slytherin’s up thirty points, now,” Ron grumbled under his breath. He shot daggers at the professor, and Lily was pretty sure she could hear him muttering curses under his breath.

“ _Thirty_?” Lily whispered in a hiss.

Ron nodded, his ears turning red.

“How are we supposed to catch up after _that_?” Lily said, pulling at her hair. With the self-tying tie around her neck, she had to find a _new_ way to relieve her stress and nervousness.

“I don’t know,” Ron said, groaning.

“What don’t you know?” Neville asked as he joined them. He seemed pleased with himself, at the least. Lily couldn’t remember Snape complaining about his work today, and that seemed like a first.

They filled him in on the way to Defense, heading up several floors. They passed scores of other students along the way, and Lily exchanged a quick set of greetings with Katie as they crossed each other’s paths on the second floor.

“I could get a few from Flitwick,” Lily said, biting her lip as she thought. Flitwick was always willing to give her a few points whenever she performed well. She’d probably have to try a bit harder, but she didn’t mind that too much.

“I could get a few from Sprout, as well,” Neville said. “It’s not all bad, we’ll get there.”

“But that was the first class!” Ron whined. “How am I supposed to make it through more? Mum’s going to kill me when she hears about this. Do you think they include points earned for other houses on those monthly reports?”

Lily considered it a moment. “Copy my notes,” she said at last.

“Pardon?” Ron said.

“My notes,” Lily said, taking her Potions book out of her bag, trying to flip through the pages to show what she meant. It was a little hard to do while they were climbing stairs, but she managed. “Just follow all my directions, and you’ll do great.”

Ron took the book eagerly, quickly shoving it into his own bag. “Thanks, Lily, that’s a good idea.”

“I have those sometimes,” Lily said, humming as they entered Lockhart’s classroom.

The class was already packed, much to their astonishment. The front desks were all taken, almost entirely by the female students. Lily and the others took a seat in the back, near a few Ravenclaw boys. Lily was grumbling; she didn’t like to sit away from the front. She could see Hermione at their old, usual seat, looking excited for the lesson. She couldn’t help but wonder how the girl made it up here so quickly, considering they both came from the dungeons. Lavender and Parvati were near the back, too, and they were first out the door.

The classroom was filled with smiling, winking portraits of Lockhart, each wearing a different set of fancy and extravagant robes. All of them seemed far too full of themselves, and a few were even shaking hands with each other. There was staircase in the back leading up to Lockhart’s office, and a large, shaking form sitting near Lockhart’s deck. Lily thought she could hear noises coming from it, and she could only assume it was some sort of cage covered by a rather large cloth.

“Good morning,” Lockhart said when he arrived, flashing a toothy grin at everybody, and winking a few times. His blonde hair was suave, as usual, and he was wearing a fancy set of yellow robes.

“Good morning, Professor Lockhart,” the class chanted back in response. He made eye contact with every single student in the room, making sure to give them all a slightly different version of his trademark smile. It took _forever_ to get through. He didn’t even walk down the stairs from his office until he was done, and then he leaned against it, which Lily thought was rather unprofessional.

“We’ll be starting with a brief quiz,” Lockhart said, scooping off a stack of papers from his desk. He handed the first one out to Hermione, smiling brightly down at her as he did so. “Just to test out how much you’ve already read. We won’t count it as a grade, not just yet, but the highest score will earn a few House points, so do try your best.”

Lockhart may give each student a smile, but he didn’t seem to pay any attention to them. He didn’t even bother calling roll, or even asking any of them what they preferred to be called. Lily had the foresight to cover her scar before her reached her, otherwise she was sure she would have been the exception. Lily stared down at the paper once she received it, staring at the first question.

_What is my favorite food?_

Lily frowned, looking around the class. Lockhart was sitting at his desk at the front, smiling around at everybody again. Most of the students (especially the Ravenclaws) were already scratching away, but Lily couldn’t help but notice that a few of the male students looked just as confused as she was.

She leaned over to Ron.

“What is this?” she whispered.

“Dunno,” Ron grumbled, writing what looked like randomly picked answers. “Just go with it.”

“No, talking, please,” Lockhart said, letting out a chuckle afterwards. “I know my tales were rather fast paced, but there’s no need to ask your fellows for their own recollections. Just try your best.”

Lily grumbled, turning back to her paper, reading the second question.

_What brand of detergent do I use to wash my robes?_

Lily raised her hand.

“Yes?” Lockhart said. “The red-head in the back, you have a question?”

Lily saw quite a few faces turn towards her, Hermione’s included.

“What is this?” she asked.

Lockhart’s smile faltered for a second. “Pardon?”

“This is just about all your favorite things.”

“Yes? What’s the problem?”

“Why are we taking a quiz all about you?” Lily asked, as if it should be obvious. She heard a few mumbles of agreement from around her.

Lockhart laughed, flashing a smile around at the student body. “And your name, Miss?”

“Lily,” Lily said. “Lily Potter.”

Lockhart gasped, then smiled, taking advantage of the situation. Lily noticed his eyes were locked right onto her forehead, and she resisted the urge to cover up the scar, knowing full-well it wasn’t currently visible. She could feel tension building in her tummy, but she steeled herself, trying not to give into her nerves for once.

“Of course, Potter, I apologize, I should have known. Can’t believe I didn’t notice you before! I was just testing to see how well you were all paying attention during your summer reading. A friendly competition, that’s all. If you didn’t read them yet, that’s fine, too, although shame on you.” Lockhart let out another laugh, and a few students laughed along with him.

“I did do the reading, sir,” Lily said.

“Then I think you’ll have no trouble,” Lockhart said. “My accomplishments are far less than yours, I’m afraid, but I will say I’m doing my best to catch up to you.”

Lily frowned, reading aloud the third question on her paper. “ _How many years in a row have I won the award for ‘Most Charming Smile?’”_

“A bit of a trick question, that one,” Lockhart said, laughing again. “That won’t be in the book proper, no, but you will find it in the foreword for the most recent one.”

Lily set her quill down, deciding she wasn’t going to answer a single one of these questions. Ron kept giving her the side-eye during it, worried she’d be getting in trouble. Lockhart didn’t even seem to notice that her paper was blank when he came around to pick them up, although his brow did furrow (and his eyes briefly flickered up towards Lily) as he flipped through them, trying to see who the winner was. _That_ took forever, too, since he insisted on grading each and every single one of them before moving on. At least Lily knew now why each of their Defense classes was slotted as a double.

“That’ll be ten points to Gryffindor,” Lockhart said once he reached the end. He hoisted up the winner’s paper, and Lily thought she could recognize the handwriting, even from this distance. “Miss Granger was the only one who could answer every single question and, I must say, I’m quite impressed that you even managed every detail.”

“Thank you, sir,” Hermione said, sounding equal parts embarrassed and proud.

“Now,” Lockhart said, turning to the face the class with a more serious expression. “I’m sure you’ve all noticed the rather large, covered cage I’ve had sitting here.”

Lockhart gestured towards said cage, the one he had covered with a rather large, beige curtain. Lily tried not to let out a grown as half the class gasped in amazement and surprise.

“Who here is the most accomplished as spellcasting, and be honest now?” Lockhart said, looking around expectantly.

Lily saw quite a few heads turn towards her directions, while a few more went towards Hermione. Lockhart didn’t seem to notice that, though, and he focused on the more famous individual.

“Ah, Miss Potter, yes, I should have known,” Lockhart said, clapping his hands and smiling. “Now, why don’t you come up here, and we’ll have a little demonstration, hmm?”

Lily hesitated, then stood, walking up to the front of the classroom. She could feel all eyes on her, and she got more than a few murderous looks from the Ravenclaw students as she made her way over. Lockhart threw an arm around her shoulder, turning her to face the class while he stood next to her. She did _not_ like the physical contact, but she remained standing there anyway, not matter how uncomfortable it made her.

“You all remember this moment. It’s not every day you get to see two world-class wizards in the same room.” Lockhart laughed, and Lily stared at the ground while she blushed, trying desperately to not look her peers. She could already _feel_ the mutinous energy in the room; she didn’t need to see it, too.

“Now, Lily,” Lockhart said, turning Lily to face the cage. Lily snapped back to attention.

Lockhart strode forward, yanking the sheet off of the cage. There were a few gasps around the room, but Lily heard a few laughs as well.

“Cornish Pixies?” Seamus said from the back in a mocking tone.

The pixies were small, blue, and going absolutely wild. Lily thought they were a bit noisy before, but now that the sheet was off, they were absolutely _losing it_. The room quickly filled with the sounds of manic, ravenous pixies. They tried grasping and squeezing their way between the bars, but they were just a tad too big for that.

“Freshly _caught_ Cornish Pixies,” Lockhart corrected. “You’ll find that they’re a tad more dangerous than you think they are. A bite from a single pixie can give a rather nasty infection, and here we have a veritable army of them. Nothing to fear from them, of course, as long as I am here. Now, Lily, on the count of three, I am going to open the cage.”

“Err-“ Lily stammered. She took a step back as she drew her wand, shaking her head vigorously. “I don’t think that’s-“

“Not to worry, just do your best to stop them, and I’ll get them all under control if you can’t.” Lockhart smiled, hand resting on the lock, pixies trying to attack him through the gap between the bars.

“Wait-“ Lily said.

“One,” Lockhart said.

“What do I-“

“Two.”

“This is a bad-“

“Three!” Lockhart shouted, clicking the lock and attempting to swing the door open.

“ _Colloportus!”_ Lily shouted, snapping the door to the cage shut and locked. The pixies beat against it, disappointed that they didn’t get to escape. Lily thought she could hear them cursing at her, but she wasn’t sure if pixies could even _talk_.

Lockhart was silent for a moment, and then he began to laugh. He gave Lily a pat on the back, throwing an arm around her shoulder while he faced the class. Lily felt even _more_ uncomfortable now.

“Excellent job, Lily, excellent job,” he said, herding her back to her seat. “Yes, the best way to handle a threat is to neutralize it before it can _become_ one. I used the same trick against the vampires in _Voyages with Vampires_ to keep them from breaking into the house I was staying in.”

“Vampires have to be invited in,” Lily said as she sat down, but nobody seemed to hear it, as Lockhart was loudly regaling the class with tales from his adventures.


	12. The Gryffindor Quidditch Team

_Dear Lily,_

_I’m sure Professor Lockhart can’t be as bad as you say, Percy said he quite liked him. Speaking of Percy, he’s told me there’s a grumbling amongst the students about you giving the professor a hard time. Don’t you go giving that man anymore trouble, I don’t want to hear about you getting a detention, too. The twins have already gotten three apiece._

“Thanks, Percy,” Lily mumbled to herself. She noticed Neville raise an eyebrow at her over his bowl of porridge, but Ron didn’t seem to notice anything. He was too busy chowing down on a much larger breakfast.

_Ron’s told me you’ve been helping him practice for the tryouts. Do try not to get hurt, dear. We heard about your nasty spill last year, and we’d hate to see a repeat. Fred and George have gotten injured plenty over the years, of course, but they can shrug it off better than anyone. It’s uncanny, really. Back when they were really little, they used to laugh whenever they’d get hurt. Ron and Ginny were criers, of course, but don’t tell them I said that._

“Ron, you used to cry when you got hurt?” Lily asked, raising an eyebrow of his own. The current Ron she knew tried to never show any feelings at all. He was terrible at it, of course, but she’d never seen him cry at the very least.

Ron’s ears flushed, but he tried to hide that with a sly grin.

“Sure, when I was four. You _still_ cry.”

Lily couldn’t deny that, so she buried her face back in the letter to hide her own shame. She could hear Ron sniggering to himself, sounding rather pleased that he managed to avoid embarrassment. She’d find some way to get revenge later.

_Oh, before I forget, dear, we got the rest of your things from the Longbottom’s. We’ve decided to set you up in Bill’s old room, he’s already given us full permission. He had a few things in there, but he’s coming to pick them up in a few weeks once he can get the time off. You let us know right away if there’s a particular way you want things set up. We moved Arthur’s old desk in there for you already, Bill didn’t have one of his own. We also put some nice, thick curtains over the window. Try not to blind yourself._

“One time,” Lily muttered.

_One last thing, Lily. Weasley got into a fight earlier with a rather large toad. He seems terrified of it, but he’s otherwise fine. It keeps popping up around the house, though. We have no idea where it came from. Just thought you should know._

_Write back to us soon!_

_Much Love,_

_Molly_

“Good news, Neville,” Lily said as she tucked the letter into her robes. “They found Trevor. He’s attacking my cat again.”

“Oh no,” Neville muttered.

“Blimey,” Ron said, shaking his head with a bemused look. “What did that cat do to make Trevor hate him so much?”

“Trevor’s always been vicious,” Lily said with a sniff. “Attacked me my first day there.”

“Did he really?” Ron asked excitedly. “A toad beat the Girl-Who-Lived?”

“The Girl-Who-Lived beat herself,” Lily answered with another sniff. Malfoy happened to be passing by right as Ron said that, and she was worried he would overhear that little tidbit. “Fell right off the chair I was standing on.”

“Why were you standing on a chair?” Ron asked.

“Thought I saw movement,” Lily replied, taking a bit of toast. She was more-or-less full; she did to have something to do, more so than needing to eat.

“That doesn’t explain the chair,” Ron pointed out.

“It sure doesn’t,” Lily said, standing up and brushing the crumbs from her lap. “I need to go to the library, I have a report to finish. Want to come?”

“As if,” Ron snorted. “I think I’ll go get some flying in. You should come with me, tryouts are in just a few days.”

“You just want to use the 2001,” Lily said as she hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. It was a bit lighter than normal. She only had two books, this time: her Transfiguration text and a book on magical herbs she borrowed from the library. She used it to annotate her Potions book a bit more (ignoring the Herbology text, where it’d probably be more useful), but it was due now.

“I can’t believe you’re going to study on a Saturday,” Ron grumbled. “And it’s nice out! It rained all week, and you want to stay inside!”

“We’ll be flying every weekend soon enough,” Lily answered. “I have to get this done or McGonagall will give me a detention. You want to come, Neville?”

“You were supposed to help me with Potions,” Neville mumbled.

“Sorry, Nev, I forgot,” Lily apologized. Their second week of classes were over, and while Lily felt like she had progressed quite nicely, both Neville and Ron hit a wall in Potions. Ron couldn’t perform with Pansy Parkinson constantly badgering him, and Neville couldn’t perform because Snape kept assigning them solo projects (defeating the entire purpose of having forced partners).

“Just come with me, Neville, I’ll help you after I finish my report,” Lily offered.

“I can just borrow your book,” Neville countered. “Maybe if I follow your instructions, I’ll do better.”

“They work well enough for me,” Lily said with a smile. “I’ll have to run up to the dorm to grab it for you, I don’t have it with me.”

“Give it to him later,” Ron said. “He can come down and help me practice.”

“What good is that going to do, Ron? He doesn’t fly.”

Ron thought for a moment. “I’ll ask Fred and George, then. They’ll be a bit rough, but they’ll help me.”

Lily thought for a moment of her own. “Ron?”

“Lily?” Ron countered.

“Are first years allowed to use a broom as long as it isn’t theirs?”

Ron scratched at his nose. “Dunno. Good question, though. I think we could at least get out of a detention with that excuse. Who did you have in mind?”

“Ginny,” Lily answered. “She can borrow my broom, and she can go upstairs to fetch that and the book for Neville.”

“Can’t she fly my broom instead?” Ron groaned.

“She gets the 2001, Ron,” Lily refused, placing her hands on her hips in her best imitation of the Weasley matriarch. “Flying the 2001 won’t help you, you need to use your own broom.”

“I’ll go get her, then,” Ron said with a sigh. Lily left the two with that, humming as she made her way out of the Great Hall. She waved to Angelina as she exited; the girl was alone for once.

Lily made it up to the third floor, but not quite to the library, when she was stopped by a familiar, squeaky voice calling for her.

“Lily! Hey, Lily, over here!”

Lily groaned, steeling herself as she turned to face Colin Creevey. She attempted to put a smile on her face, but that faltered as she noticed Gilderoy Lockhart standing next to the first year.

Lockhart looked just as excited to see her as Colin was; both were smiling and waving at her eagerly. Lily took a deep breath, then took a few steps forward.

“Hello, Colin,” she said with a fake smile. “Hello, Professor.”

“Ah, Lily, perfect timing,” Lockhart said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She quickly shook it off, but he didn’t seem to even notice. “We were just discussing you, you see, when you happened to walk right on by. Truly, fate is smiling upon the three of us this day.”

“Discussing me?” Lily asked, all warmth gone from her voice. She had a feeling she knew what this was about, and she did not like it, _not one bit_.

“Yes,” Lockhart confirmed, pulling Colin in tightly with an arm around the lad, “You see, Colin, here, had a wonderful idea about starting a fan club for our local celebrities. I, of course, have agreed to proctor it, and we’d be honored if you-“

“No,” Lily interrupted, shaking her head vigorously as she took a step back. “No, thanks, I’m-“

“Nonsense, Lily,” Lockhart said, cutting her off with a laugh. He managed to get ahold of her shoulder, pulling her in tightly on his other side. Lily was suddenly aware of how many people were in this particular hallway at this particular moment. Hermione was there, for one, and she was shaking her head at the scene as she pushed her way into the library, where Lily ever so badly wanted to be.

“I’m not-“ Lily said, trying to pull away again. Some of the crowd were starting to stare and whisper amongst themselves. Lily could feel her face flushing.

“Well, if you’re so sure, then how about a picture, at the least?” Lockhart said, flashing a smile at the students gathering around. “We’ll both autograph it, I’ll frame it, and they can keep it in the clubroom. How about that?”

“No,” Lily refused adamantly, “Absolutely not, I’m not-“

“I’ve got my camera!” Colin said, pushing away from Lockhart eagerly so he could get a better angle. The camera was rather large, and had an larger, metallic bulb attached to the top. Colin shoved his face into the back, peering at the two in front of him. Lockhart pulled Lily in more tightly, turning them both to face the camera.

Lily could hear some of the mutterings going on around her now, and they didn’t seem very flattering towards her. Lockhart, of course, was only receiving the finest praise, but Lily was pretty sure some of the girls were discussing her imminent demise.

“No,” Lily said once more. “Really, I don’t want to-“

“Say ‘Flabbertigibbits,” Lockhart interrupted, putting on his patented, award winning smile for the crowd.

“Please-“ Lily said, interrupted by a loud _click_ and a bright flash. She blinked, trying to clear the spots from her eyes, then wiped at them once Lockhart finally let her go.

“I’ll get it developed on the double, you should be able to sign it after our next class,” Lockhart announced.

“Sir, I-“ she tried once more, rubbing at her stinging eyes.

“Don’t worry, Lily, I shall see to it _personally._ I shall, also, see you on Tuesday. Have a good weekend!”

“Colin,” Lily said, hurrying forward now that her vision was back to normal. She seized him by the front of his robes, wishing the camera was still hanging from his neck; she could see Lockhart carrying it away. “If I ever, _ever_ see that picture getting passed around, I’m wiping that camera from existence, I swear.”

“Okay, Lily,” Colin said nervously, holding his hands up in surrender. Lily let go, turning and storming through the crowd while trying to calm herself. She didn’t want to lose her temper any more than she already had. She shouldn’t blame Colin, really, even if she couldn’t help it. This was Ron’s fault. _He_ put the idea in the boy’s head. Regardless, Lily needed as much distance between her and the first year as she could get right now. She _knew_ she saw Malfoy standing in the crowd with Crabbe and Goyle, whispering with each other conspiratorially.

The library was nearly empty as Lily pushed her way in. There were only a few fifth and seventh years occupying a few scattered tables. And, of course, Hermione, sitting in the far corner table. Lily walked on autopilot, briefly forgetting their feud, and placed her own bag roughly on the table as she swung it from her shoulder.

“I can’t stand them,” Lily said as she sat down, reaching into her bag with one hand, “Not either of them.”

Hermione sniffed, but didn’t reply, not even look up from her own book, where her nose was currently buried.

Lily drummed her fingers on the table as she flipped her Transfiguration book open searching for where she’d left off.

“Could you not do that?” Hermione asked sharply.

“Do what?” Lily grumbled.

“Your fingers, you’re drumming them,” Hermione said.

“So what?” Lily grumbled.

“ _So_ , I can’t focus, can I?” Hermione said obnoxiously. “Can’t you find anywhere else to sit?”

“Oh, stuff it, Hermione,” Lily said rudely. “It’s my table, too, I can sit here if I want.”

Hermione looked shocked and offended at the retort. Her mouth hung open, showing her large front teeth, and her cheeks flushed slightly in anger.

“How _dare_ you,” she whispered harshly, leaning forward so Lily could better hear her. “And, to think, I stuck up for you when Lavender was telling everybody that- that-“

“That what?” Lily said hotly, leaning forward so only Hermione could hear her. “Go on, then, what have you two been saying behind my back?”

“ _I_ haven’t been saying anything,” Hermione threw back. “ _She’s_ been telling anyone who will listen about what a nightmare you are to live with, what with screaming in the middle of the night and- and-“

“Parvati said I haven’t been having any nightmares!” Lily countered, drumming her fingers against the table again. “She said-“

“Will you _stop_ the drumming?” Hermione interrupted, gesturing to Lily’s own hand.

“Fine,” Lily acquiesced, lifting both hands off the table. “Parvati said-“

“ _Parvati_ has just been trying to keep the peace,” Hermione said. “If you didn’t share a dorm with us, she’d be saying the same things. She just doesn’t want you to be angry with her.”

“Lavender’s just mad because I forgot Weasley at home,” Lily grumbled. “She’ll come around, and I’ll be getting an apology after Christmas.”

Hermione snorted, a nasty habit she picked up from Ron last year that she never managed to kick. “Half the girls are already talking about it, will they forget, too?”

“They’re just mad because I don’t like Lockhart,” Lily countered. “Why would I care what they’re saying?”

“ _I_ like Lockhart,” Hermione said far more coolly. “If you’d actually just pay attention in his class instead of arguing over every little thing, I think you’d-“

“Hermione, the man’s a git,” Lily butt in. “Have you actually _read_ any of his books?”

“Of course I have,” Hermione answered, tone getting harsh again. “Just because you finally have someone at the school more famous than you doesn’t mean-“

“ _More famous than me_?” Lily interrupted, a little more loudly than she would have liked. She lowered her voice again when she saw a few heads turn their way. “Hermione, when have I _ever_ cared about being famous? I can’t even stand it when somebody looks at my scar!”

Lily placed two fingers on her forehead for emphasis, and Hermione’s gaze briefly flickered up to the lightning bolt before coming back down to meet Lily’s eyes once more.

“Then why the ponytail, Lily?” Hermione asked shrewdly. “Why the lightning bolt earrings? How do you expect me to believe you’re still nervous about it when you go about flaunting it?”

“I am _not_ flaunting it,” Lily said. “You know I got the earring at Christmas, and I just- Katie wore hers the same and she- she said it looked cute, that’s all.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at that. “So you’re more concerned about looking _cute_ now than you are about your studies?”

“Where in the world did you come up with _that_?” Lily asked. “I’m here in the library right now, aren’t I?”

“You were here everyday with me last year,” Hermione pointed out. “But this is the first time you’ve come here at all since term started. Pince was even asking about you, did you know?”

“No, I didn’t,” Lily admitted. “But what does it matter? I’ve been busy with other things. Quidditch tryouts are in a few days, and I’ve-“

“That’s my _point_ ,” Hermione interrupted, leaning forward again. “Last year you at least _seemed_ to care! I thought you were like me, that you liked to study, but then-“

“Hermione, _nobody_ likes to study,” Lily interrupted, matching the other girl’s position. “I studied because I _needed_ to, not because I _wanted_ to.”

“And now that you’re best mates with Ron, you haven’t been doing it at all,” Hermione countered. “You even skipped a History of Magic lesson, Lily! You never even _considered_ skipping a class last year!”

Lily blushed at that. “How did you-“

“Everybody noticed you weren’t there, Lily,” Hermione answered. “You’re just lucky nobody mentioned it to McGonagall, or the prefects. What were you even doing?”

“Practicing Transfiguration,” Lily admitted shyly. “I- I needed the extra practice, and Ron suggested-“

“Oh, yes, listen to _Ron_ ,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes. “He’s certainly never steered you wrong before, has he? It’s a miracle you haven’t already gotten a detention this year.”

“Is that what this is about?” Lily asked. “Are you still mad about the _detention_ you got last year?”

“Of course not, Lily,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “I would’ve helped Hagrid regardless of what you suggested, even if I do wish I could have thought of something else. We could have levitated the cage up to the tower, did you know? But I deferred to your’s and Ron’s expertise, because I’d never done anything like it before!”

“You’re a witch, aren’t you?” Lily whispered. “You could have thought of it just as easily as we could have.”

“That’s not my point, Lily,” Hermione said. “My _point_ is that you never think anything through! If you don’t mind me asking, did you ever once think about what Hagrid wanted to do with that flute you nicked last year?”

“No, I didn’t,” Lily admitted, “But-“

“He was going to give it to _you_ , Lily,” Hermione answered. “He told me while you were still sleeping after you _almost died_. He seemed distraught that he couldn’t find it, and that he might not have the chance to give it to you at all. It was supposed to be your birthday present that year, but you never even spared it a single thought.”

“Well, I have it, don’t I?” Lily argued. “What’s it matter if-“

“Lily, you _stole_ from Hagrid!” Hermione interrupted. “What _matters_ is that you followed an impulse without thinking about the consequences, just like you always do! And, what’s more, you _don’t_ still have it! You just _lied_ to me! Neville already _told_ me that he accidentally broke it when he fell! He told me the day he woke up, Lily, but you didn’t even remember that much, did you? You didn’t even remember you took the flute _at all_ until I mentioned it, did you?”

“I- I-“ Lily stammered. “This- I forgot, fine, I admit it.”

“You even cast magic outside of school! You broke the _law,_ Lily! Did you ever _once_ consider how much trouble you could have gotten the Weasley’s into?”

“No, I didn’t,” Lily said. “I’m sorry.”

“ _Thank_ you,” Hermione said in a huff.

“I’ll tell Hagrid, if that’s what you want,” Lily offered. “I’m sorry we didn’t let you come with us, Hermione, but there’s no reason to still be this upset about it!”

“Lily, have you listened to a single word I said?” Hermione asked. “I never wanted to go after the stone in the first place. I _wanted_ to tell McGonagall, to let her deal with it. But _you_ just had to go and be a hero, and you refused to just-“

“I wanted to see my parents, Hermione,” Lily interrupted. “That’s all I wanted. I didn’t want- I didn’t want what happened. I just wanted to see them _one more time_. That’s all.”

“And what _I_ want is for you to just _leave me alone_ ,” Hermione said quietly. “My parents didn’t even want me to write you over the summer at all, after the detention and everything else, but I said I promised to and that it’d be different. Instead, you ignored me and spent it all with _Ron._ T- they tried to tell me you weren’t interested, but- _”_

“So it’s about the Burrow, then?” Lily asked. “Is that it? You just wanted to-“

“Lily,” Hermione said in a tired, sad voice. “I just wanted my _friend_ to consider other people’s feelings for _once_. All last year, I listened to you and tried to be there for you, and not _once_ did you do the same for me.”

“I told you, Hermione, I never _got_ your letters,” Lily said.

“Lily, please, I don’t want to argue any more. Can you just leave me alone? We’re lucky Pince is on a break, or she would have-“

“Fine,” Lily said hotly, standing up and tossing her book roughly into her bag. She took out the library book and placed it far more gently on the table. “Return that for me. You can have the library, I won’t bother you again.”

Hermione didn’t call out for Lily as she walked away, and Lily tried to convince herself that she didn’t care. She ran into Peeves the Poltergeist outside of the library entrance, and she had to walk all the way back up to Gryffindor Tower reeking of rotten eggs. She spent the rest of her Saturday stewing in her room after a quick shower, only allowing a quick interruption when Ginny came to return her broom. The first-year girl tried to stay and talk, but was turned off by Lily’s curt answers.

Lily didn’t feel any more sociable the next day, although she did at least come downstairs for breakfast and lunch. Ron managed to drag her to the Quidditch pitch after the second meal, and she ran into Katie as she was fetching her broom. The third-year girl ran to grab her own broom so she could join them, and Lily was finally back to normal by dinnertime, even if they did have to avoid inviting any other Gryffindor players. None of them wanted Wood to turn it into an impromptu practice.

Monday started with more Transfiguration, and McGonagall had them all reviewing the past week’s material. That served to turn Lily’s mood foul again; she forgot all about her report over the weekend, and true to her word, McGonagall gave her a detention. Lily wasn’t looking forward to Mrs. Weasley hearing about _that_. She still needed to write a response to her previous letter where she was told explicitly to _not_ get a detention.

They started the _Skurge_ charm in Charms, and Professor Flitwick prepared a bucket full of ectoplasm for each student to clean up. Lily knew from her reading that you could use it to scare off ghosts as well, although she had no idea if it would work on Peeves. She was too scared to offend the spirits to give it a try; they were already upset with her for comparing them to the poltergeist last year.

They covered yet another goblin rebellion in History of Magic. Lily wondered why they fought against the goblins so often; they seemed nice enough at Gringotts. All their talks of war only seemed to cover the war themselves, and not the _reasons_ for the war. She briefly considered checking the library, but she _really_ didn’t want to run into Hermione.

Monday meant Astronomy as well, and Lily grumbled as she walked up the Astronomy Tower staircase at midnight, lugging her telescope and star chart along beside her. Those classes almost always went the same way; plotting the paths of various celestial bodies for hours on end. Lily couldn’t wait to drop the class in her sixth year. She didn’t understand why it was considered an essential. At least it exhausted everybody equally; all of the first-year girls, prim and proper Hermione included, collapsed into bed still wearing their school robes.

Lily received another letter from home the next day over a plate of steaming eggs. She was briefly worried as she opened it with trembling fingers, as the envelope was a bright red. She knew _that_ meant, and Ron’s sniggering surely didn’t help her nerves. Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley explained that she didn’t think a Howler was appropriate for a first-time offense of this magnitude, and she just wanted to put the fear of God into Lily. Lily _did_ have to attend that detention, though, that much was clear, and she was promised an _actual_ Howler should she get another one.

Tuesday morning meant Potions, and that was always rough right after an Astronomy night. They covered the basics on brewing a Sleeping Draught, which they’d be brewing themselves on Thursday during double Potions. Snape managed not to deduct a single point from Gryffindor, which Lily found surprising. They’d never gotten through a class without losing a single point before.

Malfoy, unfortunately, found a way to ruin a good day.

“Heard you’re trying out for Quidditch again, Potter,” he said with a sneer. “Best of luck. Maybe this time you’ll only spend a few days in the Hospital Wing.”

“Thanks, Malfoy,” Lily said sweetly, “But I’m flying a _2001_ this year. I don’t think I need your luck.”

“A 2001?” Malfoy said sharply. “Nicked it from a store, did you? Or did you sell off the Weasley’s house to pay for it? That should get you at least a quarter of a broom.”

“It was a present, actually,” Lily said, “I happened to get an early model.”

“Ah, it’s defective, then,” Malfoy said. “That makes sense. Father got one for the whole lot of us Slytherins, but they actually work. Best hope it can hold a daft cow like you.”

Hermione sniggered at that from the neighboring table, while Neville looked furious. Malfoy looked over curiously, but seemed pleased with the results of his actions. Lily, for her part, felt hurt and confused.

As class ended and the students withdrew, she took her chance at revenge in the hallway, aiming a well-placed severing charm at the bottom of Malfoy’s bag. The seam split, scattering books, quills, and ink all over the dungeon floors.

“Looks like you need a better bag, Malfoy,” Lily said. “Maybe if you ask your _father,_ he’ll get one for the whole school. That ought to make you Quidditch Captain.”

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at her, and she had to admit that she wasn’t as good at insulting people as Malfoy was but she _did_ intend to get better at it. She was humming as she left the dungeons with Ron and Neville, but the happiness fled quickly when she noticed the cold look Hermione was giving her.

“Do you think Lockhart has the picture ready?’ Lily mumbled as she hesitated outside the classroom. The rest of the students filed in past her, while Ron and Neville hung back with her.

“Of course he does,” Ron answered. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been showing it off all day.”

“I think I’m skipping today,” Lily decided. “Throat’s been feeling a bit sore, might be coming down with something.”

“You go on, you won’t be missing anything,” Ron said, patting Lily on the back. “Haven’t covered a spell yet, have we?”

That was true enough; most of their time was filled with quizzes on Lockhart’s adventures or with long, pointless lectures on said adventures. Lily almost preferred the classes from last year; at least they _did_ something there. Lockhart just kept promising they _would_ do something, but they always mysteriously ran out of time before it happened.

“I’ll let you copy my notes later,” Neville offered. Lily appreciated it, of course, and she offered him a kind smile in return. That being said, Neville’s notes were always _terrible_ outside of Herbology. She’d copy Parvati’s, instead.

“I’ll see you two at lunch,” Lily said, quickly passing the door before anybody could spot her.

“Don’t forget your broom!” Ron called after her. “And grab mine, too, while you’re up there!”

Lily waved at the two as she moved on, pushing her way through the throngs of students heading downstairs. She did _briefly_ feel bad, but she just didn’t think she had it in her to face Lockhart today.

She ducked into a hidden passage, located behind a tapestry, so she could take the map out of her robes. She lit her wands, swore the oath, and then scanned the map for a good hiding place. She ended up taking a nap in a hidden alcove on the seventh floor. The only other thing in there was a suit of armor that kept creaking slightly as it moved. She found it oddly soothing as she dozed off, taking off her robe and bundling it under her head as a makeshift pillow.

Lily woke two hours later feeling refreshed, if not a bit stiff, and she threw her robe back on before pushing her way outside. She was briefly startled by the presence of Mrs. Norris, Filch’s cat, sitting outside, but the feline seemed just as startled by her sudden appearance, and went sprinting down the hallway. Lily took that as her queue to leave, and proceeded down the opposite direction. The cruel caretaker was never far behind if his cat was around.

Lily ran through gatherings of students, passing chatting painting after painting, as well as a cursing suit of armor that she was particularly fond of. Fred and George claimed they taught it everything it knew, but Percy told her it was swearing long before those two arrived at Hogwarts.

Lily ran up to the Gryffindor Tower, pausing briefly to deliver the password, and then bolted inside, pushing straight past Percy and two other prefects on their way out. Percy briefly called after her, but she paid him no mind; running wasn’t technically _banned_ inside of the common room. Besides, she really didn’t want to deal with the Fawcetts right now. They were almost as bad as Filch.

Lily grabbed her broom, ran over to the boy’s tower, grabbed Ron’s, and then promptly left just as quickly as she came. Seamus and Dean came in as she was leaving, and Dean briefly stopped her before she could get out of range.

“Missed a good lesson today, Lily,” he said. “Finally taught us a spell.”

“What was it?” Lily said in shock. She couldn’t say whether it was caused by the actual lesson, or that Dean and Seamus were _talking_ to her. She couldn’t remember ever sharing a word with them before.

“ _Lumos_ ,” Seamus said with a cackle. “He thought it would _brighten up our day._ ”

“I’m hopeless,” Ron mumbled as they entered onto the school grounds. Lily gave him a strange look. Sure, he had a tendency to mope when he was doing badly, but he seemed excited about their prospects earlier. She didn’t know _what_ was causing this sudden change. She wished Neville was here; he was better at cheering up Ron than she was. Unfortunately, he decided to head upstairs with a nap rather than sit in the Quidditch stands for hours.

“You did fine over the summer, Ron,” Lily said. “ _And_ you have the best broom on the field.” That was ignoring her own, of course, but he didn’t have to compete with her.

“I can’t fly half as well as the others can,” Ron said glumly. “Malfoy had the right of it, I shouldn’t even bother showing up.”

“Malfoy?” Lily asked sharply. “What are you listening to him, for? He’s a prat!”

“The Chudley Cannons wouldn’t even take me,” Ron grumbled.

“That’s not true, Ron, the Cannons would take anyone they could get!”

“I’m doomed,” Ron said. Lily let out a sigh, but gave up. She never knew what to say whenever Ron was stuck in one of his moods of helplessness. He had a knack for making _her_ feel better, but she could never do the same for _him_. She briefly wondered if Hermione was right after all, but she dismissed it just as quickly.

Lily was the only one who showed up for Seeker, it seemed, and she therefore received the position by default. She didn’t expect to feel disappointed about it, but she had to admit she was looking forward to flying with the others. Fred and George dropped hints that Cormac McLaggen showed up, but that Wood sent him off after claiming the position was already filled.

“He screamed at Wood for ten minutes,” George said.

“McGonagall had to come and pull him off the field,” Fred said.

“Wood told him to not bother showing up next year,” George said.

“Did you guys get your positions back?’ Lily asked, not caring at all about McLaggen. She didn’t even know what he _looked_ like; she had yet to have the misfortune of running into him. From what she’d heard from the rest of the team, he closely resembled a troll. Lily couldn’t help but picture Marcus Flint with that comparison.

“Of course,” the twins said at once, puffing out their chests in pride.

“Not like Wood would have fielded anyone else, of course,” Fred admitted.

“Gryffindor’s never seen two Beaters like us, he says,” George added. “He says he’s never seen two of them more in sync.”

“Course, he _did_ say he’d appreciate it if we’d stop sending bludgers at _each other_ ,” Fred said with a nudge at his brother.

“That won’t happen, though, we’ve got a bet going on,” George said with a rougher nudge. That set the two of them off, and they were soon pushing and prodding each other, with Lily taking a fair amount of them herself since she was seated in between the two.

“Do you think Ron stands a chance?” Lily asked, ignoring a pain in her ribs, looking at the much larger pool of Chaser candidates. Those positions would probably take a few hours to fill, assuming Wood didn’t just pick the same three girls from last year. She didn’t really want to see any of them go, to be honest, but she also didn’t want Ron to be sent off.

“He’s got that Nimbus of yours,” George said, “So that might just give him the edge.”

“Angelina is the best of the three, but she also has the worst broom,” Fred said, “so she plays worse than the others.”

“Still, I’d hate to see her go,” George said. “She’s real good when she can keep up.”

“Why doesn’t she get a better broom?” Lily asked. From what she knew, Angelina’s parents could probably afford it; she always seemed to have nicer equipment than a lot of the other students.

“She’s Muggleborn,” George said.

“Her parents don’t ‘get’ Quidditch, they think her broom is more than good enough,” Fred said, shaking his head.

“I didn’t know she was Muggleborn,” Lily said, watching the dark-skinned girl fly around the stadium, tossing the Quaffle to other participants. She watched Ron catch a particularly hard throw, and let out a little cheer inside her heart.

“She certainly doesn’t fly like it,” Fred said, not taking his eyes off the girl.

“Flies like she’s been up there all her life,” George said.

“Just like a certain swamp plant,” Fred said, nudging Lily with his elbow.

“Ow,” Lily said, hand quickly shooting up to her stinging scar.

“Oh, come on, now,” Fred said, “That couldn’t have possibly hurt, I barely touched you.”

“Not you, it’s my scar,” Lily said, trying to rub the soreness out of the disfigurement.

“Your scar?” the twins asked at the same time in the same, confused tone. Lily didn’t feel like explaining it; sometimes this just happened. It all started last year after- no, but she wouldn’t think about that right now.

“Nevermind,” Lily said, rubbing at her scar one more time as she pushed the memory away. “It’s gone now.”

“It’s not the bludger Flint hit you with last year, is it?” Fred asked in a whisper. She knew they both still felt bad about that; both of them were right next to her when it happened, but neither reacted in time to stop it. Lily’s absence the rest of the year cost them the Cup, since McLaggen failed to catch the Snitch a single time.

“No,” Lily said, trying to think of a way to change the subject. Last year’s incident brought up too many painful memories of its own. Thinking about it set her scar to stinging again, but she did her best to ignore it. She didn’t want the twins asking about it again.

“How fast do bludgers fly, anyway?” Lily asked. There weren’t currently any out, since the positions were already filled.

“Fast enough to hurt, but not fast enough to do any real damage,” Fred said.

“You might break a wrist or an arm if you aim it just right, but you shouldn’t be able to actually kill someone with it,” George added.

“Skull’s can be cracked, of course, but you know that from experience,” Fred said.

“In most real games, you’d have staff on standby to stop anything _really_ bad from happening,” George concluded.

“Wish we had that here,” Lily said. “Could have used that last year.”

“Well, Hooch or the professors are supposed to stop anything at Hogwarts,” George said, “But they were all too busy waiting to catch you if you fell off your broom to pay any attention to Flint.”

“Then why didn’t they catch me when I fell off my broom?” Lily asked. “I broke both legs!”

“It was the shock, I think,” Fred said. “Everybody thought it was over, us included. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure they’ll be paying more attention this year.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lily said, eyes watching Ron fly with the rest of the pack. He made another difficult catch, then actually managed to sink a goal past Wood. “Ron doesn’t seem to be doing too bad, does he?”

“No,” Fred said grumpily. “He might take Angelina’s spot after all. I didn’t know he was actually _good_. Just needed a better broom, apparently.”

“Just wait,” George said. “If he drops the Quaffle once, that’ll be the end of it. He can’t stand making a mistake.”

Sure enough, what George said proved to be true; Ron dropped the Quaffle once thirty minutes before the end, and then couldn’t keep his hands on it. Wood seemed disappointed, and kept shaking his head every time the second-year boy messed up, which only seemed to make Ron play worse.

In the end, the starting Chasers proved to be the same players from last year; Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson (bad broom and all), and Alicia Spinnet. Lily was torn between feeling bad about Ron or feeling good that the old Chasers weren’t separated.

Ron was inconsolable as they made their way back to the castle. Even the weather seemed to agree with him; it was raining, now, and threatening to rain even harder if the harsh wind was any sign. The rest of the students already ran ahead, but Lily was forced to walk slowly since Ron refused any sense of urgency. Lily took this as her chance to prove Hermione wrong, throwing on her best, friendliest smile.

“Cheer up, Ron,” Lily said as she began to shiver from the cold, “there’s always next year.”

“I’ll never be good enough,” Ron said morosely. He didn’t even bother trying to push his long, wet hair out of his face. Lily was just thankful she had her own tied back.

“You made reserve, Ron,” Lily said, “You played really well, too! You were ahead of the others for most of the tryouts, you just messed up at the end, is all. You just need more experience, that’s all.”

“I won’t get a chance to play this year,” Ron grumbled. “How am I supposed to get better if they won’t even let me come to practice?”

“I’ll practice with you, Ron,” Lily offered, placing a hand on his shoulder. She hoped he wouldn’t notice how shaky it was; the cold was starting to set down in bones, and she couldn’t control the shivers. Her head was still hurting, as well, but that could just be a sickness setting in.

Ron scoffed. “You? You’ll be too busy trying not to fail Transfiguration.”

“Ron,” Lily said in a cool tone, dropping all pretense of niceness, “If you’re going to be mean, I’m not going to help you. I’ve had enough of that lately, I don’t need it from _you,_ too.”

“Sorry,” Ron grumbled, not sounding at all apologetic. Lily crossed her arms, both for warmth and grumpiness, and resolved to give the silent treatment the rest of the night.

Lily thought she felt something brush past her as she entered the castle, and she almost slipped on the slick, stone steps, but when she turned, there was nothing there. She shivered once more, then pushed inside, hoping there’d be a spot open near the fireplace for once.


	13. A Day's Feud

“Hagrid wants us over for tea later,” Lily said, passing the small note over to Ron so she could get back to her breakfast. She’d had enough interruptions for one meal, thank you very much, with a letter from the Weasleys arriving earlier followed almost immediately by a large, unscrupulous barn owl carrying Hagrid’s note.

Ron grunted as he read the note, chewing toast slathered with a rather large slick of butter. “We could go for lunch, I suppose, but we’ll have to tell him no rock cakes.”

“Is his normal cooking much better?” Lily asked.

“No,” Ron answered, “But it’s at least edible.”

“We could always skip Herbology,” Lily suggested, hiding her smile behind her glass of cold pumpkin juice.

“No!” Neville said in shock. He was against skipping classes period, of course, although Ron never seemed to mind, but the mere suggestion of skipping _Herbology_ of all things was always enough to set him off.

“It’s a joke, Nev,” Ron said with a roll of his eyes. “She’s just teasing you.”

“Yes, I’m just teasing,” Lily agreed. She wouldn’t _mind_ skipping, of course, but Professor Sprout would definitely notice and report their absence. Hard work was a core tenant of being a Hufflepuff, after all, and she was their head of house.

“We’ve been skipping History of Magic too much as it is,” Neville grumbled. “We should really go to class today.”

“Fine, we’ll go,” Lily said with a sigh. Ron groaned in response; he advocated for never attending another class session with Professor Binns. He thought the ghostly professor wouldn’t notice. Lily agreed, of course, but she knew their fellow students would report them eventually if they never showed up.

“Percy’s been dropping hints lately, anyway,” he grumbled. “I think he’s on to us.”

“Do Fred and George go?” Lily asked.

“No, but nobody expects them to,” Ron said. “Even Mum gave up on them, so long as they keep attending everything else. They only show up for exams.”

“We have one in Transfiguration today,” Neville added helpfully. Lily shot him a glare, sipping her pumpkin juice. She was getting sick of it, to be honest, and would have killed for a glass of orange juice. Or milk. Or anything different. Unfortunately, milk was only ever available on certain days, and that was not this one.

The Transfiguration test went about as well as Lily could have hoped, considering how much effort she put into studying for it. She was decently sure she aced the written portion, although she couldn’t be quite as certain for the practical. At the very least, she didn’t horribly embarrass herself in front of McGonagall like she feared she would.

Charms was always a nice breather afterwards, though, and while the rest of the class was busy practicing the Dancing Feet Charm ( _Tarantallegra),_ Flitwick moved Lily a unit ahead, working on the Freezing Charm ( _Immobolus)_. It was a good time for the practice, Lily thought, since Neville, specifically, needed constant help to get his feet still.

With only an hour left to them for lunchtime, they hurried off onto the grounds, jogging over to Hagrid’s Hut. Neville puffed along behind them, while Ron and Lily raced on ahead, each determined not to lose to the other. Lily managed to win this time, but only because Ron stumbled near the finish. She took the win, anyway, and felt nice and smug about it. Her reward, of course, was being the one to knock on Hagrid’s door.

Fang, Hagrid’s large boar-hound, barked loudly inside as she did so, each low growl shaking the fabric of air around it. The terrifying effect was ruined once Hagrid opened the door, as Fang moved forward skittishly and then rolled over onto his back so Lily could scratch at his belly.

“Hello, there,” Hagrid said cheerily. “Come in, come in, just got the tea ready, I did.”

Ron and Neville pushed past Lily, who enjoyed one last lick on her cheek from Fang before she went inside herself. She plopped herself into the nearest, comfy chair, and Fang dutifully dropped his head right into her lap. He had a tendency to drool, but she didn’t mind; she quite liked dogs.

“How have classes been?” Hagrid asked as he maneuvered himself through his cramped kitchen towards the tea kettle.

“Dreadful,” Ron said first. “Snape has us working in _partners_ with the _Slytherins_.”

“He does, does he?” Hagrid asked, setting a cup in front of each of the second years. Lily sipped at hers reluctantly, then stealthily dropped two sugars into it, smiling to herself as she imagined Gran’s reaction.

“The rest aren’t so bad,” Lily corrected, satisfied with the sweetness in her cup. “But, yes, Potions is _dreadful_ this year.”

“For you too, eh?” Hagrid said with a chuckle. “I seem to remember you quite liked it, last year.”

“Well, he has me working with _Malfoy_ ,” Lily said with a sneer.

“No!” Hagrid said, shocked.

“He does,” Neville confirmed.

“He has _me_ working with Parkinson,” Ron added. “Lily has it worse, though, I have to admit. I don’t know what I’d do if I had that slimy git as my partner.”

“It’s not all bad,” Lily said, leaning forward. “I’ve- err- been messing with him a bit. Just to blow off some steam, you know?”

Ron smiled at that, leaning in himself. “Go on, then, what have you been doing?”

“Well, do you- err- do you remember that time where his cauldron melted?” Lily said.

“You _didn’t_ ,” Hagrid said disapprovingly.

“Well, I _might_ have used a Softening Charm on the bottom,” Lily said, “But you didn’t see what he was doing beforehand! He had it coming.”

Hagrid thought about that for a moment. “Well, I suppose I can’t argue that the brat needed it, but still. Don’t go letting me hear about anymore, will you? I’m ‘sposed to tell Dumbledore when I hear about any troublemaking.”

“I won’t, then,” Lily said.

“What happened to your chickens, Hagrid?” Neville asked instead.

“You have _chickens_?” Lily asked excitedly. “How come I never noticed?”

“Mate, that’s on you,” Ron said.

“I dunno what happened,” Hagrid said, staring out his window at the empty coop. Lily couldn’t help but stare as well, eyes glancing about for any signs of feathers. “Found em dead a few days ago. Think a fox got to em.”

“I thought animals couldn’t get onto the grounds unless they were brought in on purpose,” Ron said.

“Depends,” Hagrid explained. “Magical creatures are kept out by the wards, but nonmagical critters can still get through.”

“Did you find the fox yet?” Neville asked.

“No, but don’t you mind that,” Hagrid said. “Heard you two made the Quidditch team.”

“As a reserve,” Ron grumbled.

“Still, though, that’s great!” Hagrid said cheerily. He thumped Ron on the back, causing the younger boy to sputter out some tea. Hagrid quietly offered him a napkin.

“Who is the new Slytherin Quidditch Captain?” Lily asked, curious to who they’d be up against.

“Montague,” Ron said, perking up a bit with his near-death experience. “He plays Chaser. He’s just as mean as Flint was, and twice as stupid. We’ll have to watch out. They’ll be playing _really_ dirty.”

“Why would Snape choose _him_?” Lily grumbled.

“Probably because he’s a greasy eel,” Ron suggested.

They spent the next half an hour discussing various topics in Hagrid’s cozy cabin, drinking copious amounts of tea and even eating some (very tough) jerky Hagrid prepared over the summer. Once it was time to go, Hagrid stood, raising his cup in the suggestion of a toast.

“To Ron and Lily,” he said (much to Lily’s embarrassment), “Quidditch champions.”

“To Ron and Lily,” they all repeated, raising their own cups. Lily pretended to take a sip; her cup had been empty for a while. She desperately needed to pee, and didn’t want to risk taking in any more liquid.

The students ran to the greenhouses soon after, barely making it before Professor Sprout shut the doors. They panted at their station, struggling to catch their breath as the Hufflepuff mistress started a lecture on mandrakes. Lily spent the entirety of the class not paying attention and fidgeting where she stood, counting the seconds until she could make it back to the castle.

Unfortunately, Fridays were a Double Herbology day, and so the hours dragged on, time slowing to a crawl. Lily left the class covered in sweat, absolutely sure her bladder would burst before she could make it to a bathroom. She sprinted on ahead of everyone else, running into the Great Hall. The nearest restroom had an out of order sign up, so she ran up the stairs to the first floor.

That bathroom, unfortunately, had an enormous line, likely due to the one below being unusable. Lily danced in place for a moment, considering her options, then dashed up to the second floor. That bathroom was _never_ used, except by the most desperate. Lily, unfortunately, was at that point.

The second-floor bathroom was, as expected, empty. Lily hurried into a stall, hoping Myrtle wouldn’t notice somebody’s presence. The ghost was well-known among the female student body, and would scream and cry if somebody dared to use the same bathroom she refused to stop haunting. Lily didn’t think it was fair; they had few enough bathrooms as it was. She spent enough time in here last year, back when she was fighting with all her friends. Myrtle didn’t seem to mind Lily’s company, but that almost made it worse. She definitely did _not_ want people to think she was friends with the specter.

The bathroom was oddly quiet today, aside from the occasional wail or sniffle coming from Myrtle’s stall. Lily quickly washed her hands at the ornate snake, then hurried outside, pleased that she got away with it without ever having to say a word to Myrtle.

“Miss Potter!” a squeaky voice called out as Lily attempted to return to the staircase. Lily turned, spotting Professor Flitwick exiting his office, hopping towards her eagerly.

“Professor?” she said. She had nothing to discuss with the Charms teacher, as far as she could recall.

“I was just about to send for you,” Flitwick said. “I just got word from Minerva; she said you passed the first test with flying colors, and has given full permission for you to begin private lessons.”

“That’s great, Professor!” Lily said, fully meaning it even if she _did_ forget she’d ever asked in the first place.

“We shall begin next Thursday,” Flitwick said. “You shall have one meeting with me a month, and every other week shall be with a higher year student.”

That was even better than Lily hoped, and she could feel her feet wanting to dance in exuberation. She chose to hide that feeling, since she didn’t want to embarrass herself at the moment.

“I shall see you on Monday, Miss Potter,” Flitwick said with a bow. “Do enjoy your weekend.”

“You, too, Professor,” Lily called back as she skipped away happily. She stopped as she neared the voices of others, of course, but she did enjoy that one brief moment.

She rejoined Ron and Neville at History of Magic, taking up position near the back of the room so that Ron could get away with a nap. Lily chose to stay up; she was far too excited to sleep. She was also, of course, far too excited to pay attention, and spent her time doodling the Gryffindor Quidditch players on her parchment. It was about as productive as she ever got in this particular class.

Speaking of Quidditch players, they ran into Oliver Wood as the Fat Lady swung open to let them into the common room. He ran up from behind, quickly placing a hand on Lily’s shoulder.

“Ah, Potter, there you are,” he said.

“Bloody hell,” Lily said, almost jumping out of her skin. “Merlin, Wood don’t do that, you almost-“

“I have a revised training schedule for you,” Wood said, handing over a scroll. Lily took it with a shaky hand, snapping it open. She gave it a onceover, then looked up at the smiling, annoying sixth year boy.

“First thing Saturday _and_ Sunday?” Lily asked with a raised eyebrow. Previously they at least got the Saturday off for resting.

“ _And_ an evening on Wednesdays and Fridays,” Wood said, tapping on the paper. “Slytherin has that lot of 2001s. We need all the practice we can get if we’re going to take the cup.”

“Oliver, when am I supposed to do homework?’ Lily asked. “These weekend sessions are five hours long.”

“We’ll manage,” Wood said. “If we stick to this, we’ll be unbeatable this year, I’m sure of it.”

“But-“

“And I want you there, too, Weasley,” Wood said, placing another scroll into Ron’s hands. Ron looked shocked, staring at the scroll in utter disbelief.

“Me?” Ron said, mouth stuck open. “But I’m only-“

“Yes, you,” Wood confirmed. “I’ve decided _all_ of our reserves should come to practice, after all. Just in case something happens, you should still get used to the rest of the team.”

“But-“ Ron said, clearly showing the same horror Lily was already feeling. They’re schedules were already jampacked, and now had even less wiggle room.

“See you both after supper,” Wood said, patting them each once and then pushing inside the common room. Ron muttered a curse under his breath.

“What-“ Lily started.

“ _Will you lot get inside_?” The Fat Lady interrupted. The three second years quickly hurried inside the warm and crowded common room, not wanting to earn the portrait’s ire. Neville did that a week ago when he couldn’t remember the password, and she almost made him sleep outside in the hallway. He was saved by Lily checking the Marauder’s Map before bed, spying her friend tucked away in a cold, dark corner.

“I was hoping we could join a club,” Neville mumbled as he threw his things on an open table.

“Tuesdays are still open,” Lily said.

“No they aren’t,” Ron disagreed. “We have to have at least _one_ night free to ourselves, Lily, I’m not doing _anything_ on Tuesdays.”

“Tuesday evenings only leaves the Gryffindor Pride club, anyway,” Neville said. “We could try a weekend club, you won’t be in practice _all_ day.”

“Do the other houses have their own?” Lily asked. “The Pride club, I mean.”

“Probably,” Ron said.

“I think it’s called Pride because we’re lions,” Neville asked. “It’s just somewhere else for Gryffindors to gather.”

“Would Ravenclaw be a Murder?” Lily asked.

“That’s crows,” Neville said.

“What in Merlin’s name are you two talking about?” Ron asked, shooting glares at the more comfortable, older students. They were far from the fireplace and windows. Even if the weather was still warm, Lily wished they were at least a _bit_ closer. She always got cold too easily.

“A group of crows is called a murder,” Neville explained. “And Ravenclaw has an eagle, anyway, not a raven.”

“What’s a group of eagles called, then?” Lily asked, brushing a lock of hair from her eyes. She had to leave a fringe to cover the scar even with most of it tied back, but it still drooped too far at times.

“I don’t know,” Neville said. “I only knew the crow thing because of Hermione.”

Lily looked around for the bushy-haired girl. She’d still answer the question, if they weren’t currently friendly with each other, and Lily was more than willing to ask. She wasn’t in the common room, though, so she gave up quickly.

“We should probably get down to supper,” Ron grumbled, standing. “Wood’ll kill us if we’re late for the first practice.”

“I suppose,” Lily agreed reluctantly, standing as well. “I’ll go ahead and change. Meet you downstairs?”

“Sure,” Ron said, waving her off. Lily waved back, then began the climb upstairs. Her legs were already hurting from all the activity today, and they’d likely be aching by the time she finally got to bed if Wood had his way. Flying for too long always caused her grief, and Wood was a fan of letting practice run for too long. She’d be lucky if they made it back inside before curfew.

Lily felt a brief pang of sadness as she pushed the door open to her empty dorm; she still wasn’t used to her cat not running up to greet her anytime she came back home. At the very least, though, she didn’t have to deal with the equally painful reaction of Weasley snuggling with Lavender and _refusing_ to come say hello.

Lily tossed her trunk onto her bed, then placed her broom next to it far more gently. She threw her bag down on the ground, pushing it under the bed with her foot so nobody would go through it. She clicked the trunk open and tossed back the lid, then scattered a few of it’s contents around. She had to dig almost to the bottom to find her Quidditch robes.

She changed as quickly as she could, throwing on her slightly musty school robes for the fresh, clean Quidditch ones. They’d be far smellier soon enough, of course, but it felt nice while it lasted. The red and gold robes matched nicely with her hair, she thought. She pulled on her thick boots afterwards, appreciative for the warmth; their dorm was far too drafty for her liking.

Lily stood up, giving herself a nice, long stretch, then looked around at her untidy surroundings. She tossed her robes around a little more than she probably should have; one almost managed to land on Hermione’s bed.

“Should probably clean that up,” Lily muttered to herself, wondering if she really had the time for that. She let out a sigh, but decided to do it anyway. She grabbed the robe from Hermione’s bed first, rolled it into a ball, then tossed it back into her trunk. As she picked up the robes she just shed, she remembered the map. She removed that so it wouldn’t get caught in the wash, then tucked it gently into the trunk, right where she would have normally stored the Invisibility Cloak.

She was still looking for a good opportunity to report that it was missing. She knew McGonagall would give her a huge lecture if she did, so she’d been putting it off. She didn’t even mention it to Neville or Ron yet, although she should probably get to that soon. Ron, at the least, kept asking why they haven’t gone out yet after hours and she was running out of excuses.

There was a click at the door, and Lily quickly hurried to throw some of her things back into the trunk, not caring about any spillover.

“What are you doing in here?” Lavender asked rudely, crossing her arms across her chest. Her pretty hair was in curls as usual, and flowed down her back. Her makeup was also perfect, as it always was. Lily didn’t know _where_ she found the time; she never bothered, herself, nor did any of the other girls from their year (aside from Pansy Parkinson). They had to get up far too early as it was, and nobody wanted to spend the extra time, especially not when they could still be _sleeping_. Parvati sometimes joined her after lunch, but never did so in the morning.

“I live here,” Lily said, cramming a few more things back into the trunk. She threw her books in last before clicking it shut. A sleeve was poking out from one side, but she paid it no mind and placed the trunk roughly back onto the floor, right in front of where her bag was hiding.

“Why did you make such a mess?” Parvati said in a nicer tone. The pretty Indian girl was almost always nicer than Lavender was, although she could also be a real gossip. Lily liked her twin a lot more, even if she was a Ravenclaw; she never said anything mean about anybody, and she was always willing to let Lily copy her notes. That was one thing that made Parvati more of a Ravenclaw than Padma was; the Gryffindor was far too protective of her study habits, sharing them only with Lavender.

Lily blushed at that; she thought it was mostly cleaned up at this point, but she was apparently wrong about that. Normally she liked to keep things tidier, but she cared less and less as the year went on. She blamed Ron for it, naturally; the boy was a slob and _clearly_ a bad influence. She made a mental note to cut that out as soon as possible. She definitely did _not_ need another thing people could judge her about.

“I was- I was just changing into my Quidditch robes, is all. I have practice tonight.” Lily gestured at her far more colorful robes, then slung her broom over her shoulder.

“And you had to throw your things all over the room to do it?” Lavender asked.

“No, I, err- I just couldn’t find them at first,” Lily said, scratching at her scar. It always itched when she got hot, and she was suddenly feeling _very_ warm.

“Well, get out,” Lavender said rudely. “We need the room.”

“Okay, Lavender,” Lily said, taking any excuse she could get to leave this situation. “Why are you two up here, anyway? Dinner starts soon.”

“We needed to do some studying,” Parvati said, patting her satchel. Lily nodded in understanding; just yesterday Snape yelled at the two of them for twenty minutes about the poor quality of their work. He never did that for _anybody_ outside of Neville, so they must have taken it to heart since Lavender _never_ studied.

“Why didn’t you do it downstairs?” Lily asked.

“It’s too crowded down there,” Lavender huffed. “Why are you up here, anyway? Your _friends_ are downstairs, aren’t they?”

“Fine, I get the hint,” Lily said, pushing past the two roughly. There was only so much abuse she could take before getting fed up, after all, and Lavender was getting to that point far too often lately. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on your private time together.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lavender called after Lily. Lily chose to not answer it and skipped down the steps. She could always get over any fight with Lavender very quickly, even if she got angry in the moment. She knew Lavender was just angry about the cat situation, and that she’d be getting a full apology before too long. Besides, she just couldn’t stay mad at Lavender for very long. She had a way of making people feel good when they were around her, so long as she wasn’t upset with them. Lily chose to look forward to _those_ times instead.

Ron and Neville were sitting on the couch as Lily arrived, Ron wearing his Quidditch robes and holding his broomstick gently across his legs. They both stood as Lily joined them, falling into stride with her.

“Did you ask Hermione about the eagle thing?” Neville asked.

“What?” Lily responded before she remembered. “Oh, that. No, she wasn’t up there.”

“What took you so long, then?” Ron asked.

“I was _changing_ , Ron,” Lily answered. “Anyway, Neville, I don’t know _where_ she is, and I don’t particularly care.”

“Lavender said earlier that she’s been spending a lot of time in the second-floor bathroom,” Neville said. “Well, actually, _Parvati_ told me, but she said she heard it from Lavender who-“  
“Why would she be spending all her time in a bathroom?” Ron asked.

Lily bit her lip at the sudden feeling of anxiousness. “That’s where I went last year, when we were fighting, remember?”

Neville frowned. “You don’t think she’s doing the same thing, do you?”

“Who cares?” Ron said. “Quaffle’s on her side at this point, anyway, Lily already apologized. Let’s just forget about her already. There’s no use spending all your time worrying about whether or not somebody likes you.”

Lily huffed and sped up, pushing past the two boys and through a throng of nearby Gryffindors. One of them shot her a look, but she ignored it. She could hear Ron groaning from behind.

“What did I do now?” he said in a defeated tone as he struggled to keep up with her.

“Is that what you said about me last year?” Lily snapped as she sped up once more.


	14. Enemies of the Heir Beware

The weekend ended faster than anybody would have liked, and the new week rolled right on ahead. They began a new unit in Transfiguration, and Lily was once more struggling to stay ahead. She was beginning to give up on reaching top of the class this year; Hermione was simply too far ahead already in several vital areas. She decided to settle on Charms and Potions instead, where she was far ahead of everybody else. Snape never seemed to care, but Flitwick always beamed with pride every time she succeeded.

Astronomy was business as usual, but the late-night class was really starting to affect Lily’s energy levels on the following Tuesdays. At the very least, on Tuesdays they only had regular Potions instead of double. Even so, Lily was finding it more and more difficult to stay awake during those classes, and it was certainly very difficult to pay attention to the instructions.

On one such Tuesday morning, Lily found herself lazily going through the motions of brewing a Forgetfulness Potion, glancing at her book every once in a while, to make sure she was on the right track. She yawned as the stirred her cauldron, and as soon as he eyes closed, she heard a _plop_ coming from the liquid. She opened her eyes just in time to see the formerly clear liquid turn into a viscous brown. She glanced down at the description in her book to doublecheck, but she really didn’t need to. She almost knew how to do this Potion by heart, and certainly knew what it was _supposed_ to look like.

“What did you just throw into my cauldron?” Lily asked Malfoy, who was clearly doing his best to hide a smirk. His usually slicked back hair was a little frizzy from the fumes of his potion, as if it was forgetting it was supposed to stay put. Lily’s would likely have been the same if she didn’t still have it tied back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Potter,” Malfoy said snidely. “Looks like you managed to muck up the instructions, though.”

Lily stopped stirring, wafting the aroma of the potion so that she could get a scent of it. There was a faint smell of mud coming from the sludge, which could really only mean one thing based off of the available ingredients for second years.

“You threw in muckworm eggs,” Lily said. “It’d explode if I kept stirring.”

Malfoy frowned, clearly disappointed in the results of his sabotage. “Too bad, Potter, the batch is still ruined.”

“You’re right about that, at least,” Lily said with a sigh. She’d have to start over, but they didn’t have the time for it left in the class. She’d have to accept the zero, which stung her pride. She glanced over at Hermione’s caldron at the neighboring table, trying to gauge how far she’d fall behind. The bushy-haired girl was smiling softly, occasionally glancing smugly over at Lily’s now ruined potion.

Lily did her best to clean up her station, making sure to dispose of the contents of her cauldron carefully. She sat at her desk when class ended while everybody else filed up to Snape to turn in their vials. She noticed Ron was taking an unusually long time to fill his own vial; he must have messed up, too, even with Lily’s notes written in his own textbook. He spent every weekend annotating the sections they’d be covering in the week’s Potions classes. Eventually, the ginger boy found his way over to the line, smiling as he approached the front of it. Lily thought that was strange for sure; he was _never_ happy during Potions.

“This is Lily’s,” Ron said, handing Snape one of two vials he was holding. Lily did her best to not show surprise, but she was suddenly very thankful for the boy.

“And why, may I ask, are you delivering it for her?” Snape asked, eyeing the vial with suspicion. It seemed to be good work; Ron had clearly followed all the proper tips. Lily wasn’t sure she could have done any better.

“She’s been feeling a bit under the weather,” Ron said. “I just thought I’d help her out, you know?”

“He’s lying, Professor,” Pansy Parkinson spoke up, looking smugly over at Lily from where she was standing nearby. “He filled up two vials from his own cauldron before he joined the line.”

“That’s-“ Ron started, ears turning red.

“It’s true, Professor,” Malfoy said smugly. Lily tried pleading with her eyes for the boy to, just this once, not be the world’s biggest prat. “Potter messed up her own potion. He’s trying to cover for her incompetence.”

Snape looked between the two Slytherins, then at Ron, and finally at Lily. She tried her sweetest smile on him, knowing full-well it’d have no effect. Snape never accepted any sort of flattering or groveling from the Gryffindors; only his own house could get away with that.

“Is that true, Potter?” he said in a quiet tone. His black eyes made Lily feel cold inside, and she could feel her smile fading quickly.

“Yes,” Lily admitted icily, “But it’s only because-“

“Silence, Potter,” Snape commanded. Lily did as she was told, shutting her mouth rigidly, pressing her lips firmly together so she couldn’t say the rude things she was currently thinking. “And you thought you could get away with this, Weasley?”

“Yes, sir,” Ron said, meeting the Slytherin’s eyes. Lily was impressed; she would have looked away. Even Neville looked nervous about it, and he was standing near the classroom’s exit, chatting with Seamus and Dean while they waited for their fellows.

“5 points from Gryffindor,” Snape said without breaking the contest. “But I won’t completely ruin your attempt. You shall take Potter’s zero, I think, and she will take the pitiful grade for this slime you’ve so brazenly called a potion.”

“That’s not-“ Ron protested as the familiar flush of red flowed into his ears.

“2 more points from Gryffindor,” Snape said, standing up from his desk. “Class is dismissed.”

Snape swirled his black cloak around him, and then stormed straight into his office in the back of the classroom, vials of potion in hand, door slamming shut behind. Ron swore loudly, but the Potions Master did not return. He stormed off to the back of the room to pack his things, and Lily joined him and Neville in the Dungeon corridors soon after.

“Snape bloody-well does it again,” Ron muttered as he kicked a loose stone down the hallway. It made a small _tink_ as it collided with a suit of armor and then bounced further down the hallway.

“Sorry, Ron,” Lily muttered in return. “I shouldn’t have-“

“It’s not your fault, Lily, I saw what Malfoy did,” Ron said quickly. “I just thought I’d help, is all.”

“You should have stuck to the story,” Neville offered. “He would have believed Lily.”

“No, he wouldn’t have,” Lily said. “Not with two Slytherins saying otherwise. He might not treat me like the rest of the Gryffindors, but he still doesn’t show my any favoritism.”

“Honestly, Lily, what do you even see in that man?” Ron said. “How could you _possibly_ think he isn’t the worst?”

“Hey, now,” Lily said in her defense. “To be fair, I only stuck up for him last year. I’m on your side, now. The man’s awful.”

“Well thank Merlin we can all agree on that, then,” Ron snorted. Lily waved her wand slyly from inside her robe sleeve as they passed the stone again, quickly tossing it towards the back of Malfoy’s head. She and Ron both sniggered as the blonde boy stumbled from the force, even if it wasn’t enough to actually hurt him.

Wednesday was just as busy as it always was; their schedules were too jam-packed for any free time. They could only breath once History of Magic got out, and then they always spent the rest of their free time finishing the homework that was due the next two days (or even occasionally just the very next day, depending on the workload).

Lily came prepared for Potions on Thursday. She was fully rested and on guard the entire class session. Malfoy kept muttering something to himself while occasionally looking over. Lily flashed him a smile each time. She wasn’t planning on starting anything herself, but she certainly wouldn’t hesitate if Malfoy moved first.

“Heard you’ve been having a rough time at practice,” Malfoy finally said near the end of the class period. “Gryffindor doesn’t stand a chance this year.”

“I think we’ll be fine,” Lily said smugly. “I’m back on the team, after all.” She wasn’t actually all that confident, but she wouldn’t let Malfoy think otherwise.

“Please, the way you fly, they’ll be scraping you off the field by the time I’ve caught the Snitch.”

Lily frowned at that comment, staring in confusion at her mortal enemy. “You?”

“Me, Potter,” Malfoy said. “I’m playing Seeker this year. I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Our new brooms are the talk of the castle. Father got us _all_ new brooms, as a matter of fact.”

“Then how come I haven’t heard any of it?” Lily said. “ _Lavender_ lives in my dorm, and she can’t hide a thing.”

“Probably because you have no friends, Potter,” Malfoy said. Lily felt stung, even if she knew it wasn’t true. Her eyes flickered briefly over to where Hermione was sitting, but the other girl was too busy helping Neville slice his salamander tails to pay any attention to the table next door.

“So you bribed your way onto the team, then?” Lily said, leaning forward over her cauldron. It smelled pleasantly of the ocean, now that she’d already added her mermaid scales. She wouldn’t have mentioned it to anybody, lest Ron laugh at her, but she hoped they weren’t hurt in the harvesting season.

“Course not,” Malfoy said. “Father made a donation _after_ I’d already secured my position.”

“And I’m sure they’ll keep you on after we trounce you,” Lily said.

“Please, Potter,” Malfoy said. “Your old Nimbus can’t outfly my 2001, and that’s the best broom your sort has. None of those _Weasleys-_ ”

Lily let out a snort, then quickly shut off her giggles, trying to appear calm and stoic.

“What’s so funny, Potter?” Malfoy said. He lost his sneer. He never liked to be laughed at. That was partially while Lily let out a reaction at all.

“I have a 2001,” Lily said. “I got it early. Been flying it all summer.”

Malfoy looked furious, although he had no good reason to be. He always looked ridiculous when his face flushed; his hair was too pale to match his darkened face.

“Think you’re clever, do you?”

“No,” Lily admitted.

“That’s right, Potter, you can’t do anything without that filthy _Mudblood_ around you,” Malfoy said, turning his sneer over at Hermione. Lily didn’t know what that meant, but she could certainly tell it was terrible, and she felt anger raising at the mere thought of it.

Lily could see that Neville had heard, and he was clearly furious but unwilling to make a scene, hands clutched tightly against his spoon as he vigorously stirred his cauldron. She couldn’t tell if Hermione had heard, or if she’d even understood if she had, as the other girl was still facing away.

“I think I’ll still prove that I don’t need a bribe from daddy to get on the team, or even to pass my classes,” Lily said in her defense. Malfoy bristled at the comment, but he tried to hide it under another smug smile.

“We’ll see about that, Potter,” Malfoy said. “Maybe that Mudblood on your team will have a little accident. From what I’ve heard, that Weasley is _dreadful_. If we can get him to play, you’ll never stand a chance.” Malfoy nudged his head in Ron’s direction. Lily’s eyes couldn’t help but follow, and she, in turn, couldn’t help but notice that Ron’s face was also flushed angrily, with Pansy Parkinson leaned over and whispering something.

Lily stewed for the rest of the class, just like her Potion, as she refused to talk to Malfoy any further no matter _what_ he said. He seemed to get bored, eventually, and focused on his own potion instead. Lily packed up as quickly as she could, and then waited for her two companions outside the classroom.

“What does Mudblood mean, Neville?” she asked the boy as he fell in line. Ron looked shocked at hearing the word come from Lily, but Neville seemed to expect the question, even if he wasn’t happy about it.

“It means they have dirty blood,” he explained. “Purebloods use it against Muggleborns. You’re not supposed to say it out loud, though, even if you do believe it. Gran beat my Uncle at a party once after he let it slip.”

Lily nodded in an understanding. It was terrible, and Malfoy should never have used it, and that was all she needed to know. Lily took her wand out of her robes, and tucked it into her sleeve where it wouldn’t be seen, just as she had done two days ago.

As they were leaving the classroom, Lily took her chance while she wouldn’t be noticed. She pointed her wand at Malfoy’s bag while the boy was distracted by his goons.

“ _Diffindo_ ,” she whispered. It was something she’d already used, for sure, but it was effective the first time, so why not try it again?

Malfoy’s bag split open, spilling his books, quills, and ink all over the ground. Malfoy gave a shout of alarm while the Slytherins around him burst out into laughter; Crabbe and Goyle laughed the loudest, while Pansy Parkinson was the only one who didn’t laugh at all. Lily was pretty sure she was hiding a smile under that hand, though.

Lily tucked her wand back into her sleeve as quickly as she could. She noticed Neville raise an eyebrow, although Ron was too busy laughing to notice anything at all. Malfoy seemed to have his own suspicions, however; he was glaring over at Lily. She just shot him a smile, trying to look innocent.

Ron kept going on about it as they went up to their next class. He seemed to enjoy it far more than anybody else did. Neville was silent, and Lily couldn’t help but feel that he was judging her, which only served to make her feel bad. She shook that off just as quickly as it came; there was no need to feel bad about doing something to _Malfoy_ , since he certainly wouldn’t feel the same for anybody else.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Neville said as they reached the third floor. For their Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Lily looked over at him, but decided not to say anything. She did sniff, though, to note that she was displeased.

“Done what?” Ron asked guiltily. Lily couldn’t help but smile at that response, although she had no idea what Ron had done to warrant it.  
“You heard what he said, how could I not?” Lily said in his defense. She couldn’t let Ron think it was his fault.

“We’re not supposed to use magic in the halls,” Neville said. “Besides, it was mean.”

“Right, like Malfoy isn’t?” Lily said. She scratched at her forehead where a stray hair was irritating her skin. Her hair always seemed to be a bit untidy after Potions, but so did everybody else’s.

“Wait, that was you?” Ron said in an impressed tone. “I can’t believe nobody noticed it! That was practically a silent cast.” Lily didn’t think _that_ much of it, but she couldn’t help but feel pleased anyway.

“Malfoy noticed,” Neville muttered.

“Let’s see him do something about it, then,” Lily said defiantly.

“Yeah, he’s a git,” Ron agreed. “Can’t do a thing himself. Has to rely on his daddy’s name for everything. Did you hear that he made the Quidditch team by buying them all a new set of brooms?”

“I just heard that from him, actually,” Lily said. “That was partially why I did it.”

“So it wasn’t the insult, then?” Neville said.

“What insult?” Ron said. “What did he say this time?”

“He called Hermione and Angelina a Mudblood,” Lily whispered.

“Oh, so _that’s_ where that question came from,” Ron said, scratching at his chin in understanding.

“Where did you think it came from?” Lily asked curiously.

“I just thought you must have read it in a book or something,” Ron said with a shrug. “You ask questions all the time, don’t you?”

“But how often do I ask something like _that_?”

“You should have said something earlier, I would have-“ Ron started to say.

“You would have gotten caught,” Lily said. Ron was about as unsubtle as it got when it came to spell craft, almost having to shout the incantations at times to get them working. The only one worse than him was Neville. “Just leave him to me, I can handle him.”

“Still, though,” Ron said. “Tell me next time. I can help.”

“Thanks, Ron, I’ll keep that in mind,” Lily said as they took their usual seats in the back of Lockhart’s classroom. Lily liked to go as unnoticed as possible in this particular class. It never worked, of course. Lockhart called on her for almost everything they did. The Ravenclaws they shared the session with were never happy about it, since they always wanted to show off their own proficiency in the subject.

“Welcome, welcome,” Lockhart said as he exited his office and came into the classroom. “Good morning, class!”

“Good morning, Professor Lockhart,” everybody but Lily, Ron, and Neville repeated. Lily did _not_ like the man, and the other two were more than happy to follow her lead. They had to stay on her good side, after all, if they wanted to copy her homework. Lily was pretty sure Neville secretly liked the professor, but she was happy to pretend otherwise for her own sake.

“It’ll be an easy class today, I’m afraid,” Lockhart said with another flashy smile. “Have some other work I need to get done in the meantime. We’ll be dividing into groups and writing summaries on my spellwork in _Year with the Yeti_. Pay especially close attention to the _Gravaddo_ spell I used to give the Yeti a head cold. Just don’t go casting it on each other, now! Madame Pomfrey has enough work on her hands as it is.”

The class laughed at his “joke” as Lily groaned. She moved her chair closer to Ron and Neville, then propped her book open against the desk to hide her face from Lockhart. He kept trying to remind her to sign Colin’s photo during every class, and she was hoping to avoid that today.

“Do you think that one actually works?” Neville asked.

“I’ll find out Tuesday,” Lily said. “I’ll try it out on Malfoy.” She’d already tried most of the spells used in Lockhart’s books, but most of them didn’t do a thing. She wasn’t sure if it was because the professor made them up, or if she was just doing it wrong. Lockhart never mentioned any wand movement for any spell that he used.

“Don’t,” Neville said quickly, glancing around the classroom nervously.

“Do,” Ron said with a grin on his face.

“Oh!” Lockhart called loudly from his desk, “and when you’re done, I’ll be calling on one random member of each group to read aloud your summaries, so do try your best work!” His eyes locked directly onto Lily as he said this, and he shot her a wink that sent a shiver down her spine.

“Lovely,” Lily said as she slammed her head down onto her desk.

True to his threat, Lily was the one who gave their presentation. She wrote it herself, and it was only a few sentences long. The rest of the class wrote almost a full essay each. She was still given full marks, of course, “for the sheer brazenness of it!” Lockhart always gave her full marks, even if she just refused to turn in anything at all, which she has done on several occasions.

Lily noticed Hermione taking far longer to pack up her things than the other students, and she let out a sigh in response. She waved Ron and Neville on ahead, deciding that she’d make another attempt to patch things up.

Soon they were the only people in the room, Lockhart practically running up the stairs to enter his office, arms full of letters still unopened. He looked a little worried about the volume, to be honest, but Lily certainly wasn’t going to help him even if she _was_ asked. Hermione took a quick look around as she slung her bag over her shoulder, and Lily gave her a wave and a smile while she stood next to the only exit.

Lily could see Hermione sigh, but the bushy-haired girl had no choice, and came straight towards her.

“Hello, Hazel,” she said as Lily fell into step with her.

“We’re back to that again?” Lily said in a disappointed tone.

“How have you been?” Hermione asked in a falsely sweet voice.

“Do you care?” Lily asked. She winced a bit at the harshness in her tone; this certainly wasn’t how she wanted it to start off.

Hermione sniffed, but pointedly did not look over. “I was just being nice, Hazel, but if this is how you’re going to act, I can simply ignore you.”

“Sorry,” Lily said quickly, “It just slipped out, I didn’t mean anything by it. How have you been?”

“Do _you_ care?” Hermione asked in return.

“Yes, I do, Hermione,” Lily said. “I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t.”

“Well you sure have a way of showing it,” Hermione said. “Am I to assume that display with Malfoy earlier was for my benefit?”

“You saw that?” Lily asked sheepishly.

“I was standing right behind you, Hazel,” Hermione said. “You’re lucky nobody else saw. You could have gotten a detention. Of course, I’m sure you didn’t-“

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Lily said hotly. “I didn’t care if I got a detention, Hermione, he had it coming after what he said about you, don’t tell me he didn’t.”

“Neville agrees with me, you know,” Hermione said instead.

“Heard that too, did you?” Lily said. “Look, I’m not going to-“

“Not about that,” Hermione interrupted, “Remember when he talked to me a couple of weeks ago? He agrees, Lily, that you shouldn’t just do something on a whim. You should-“

“If Neville thought that, he’d say so,” Lily said.

“He’d never say anything to you, Hazel, he’s just hoping you’ll figure it out on your own,” Hermione said. “Besides, assuming I’m right from what you just said, he _has_ said something. ‘Heard that, too?’”

“That was just about one specific instance,” Lily said, brushing it off with a wave of her hand.

“No,” Hermione said with a sigh, “It’s not, Hazel, haven’t you been listening?”

“Look, Hermione, I didn’t come here to argue,” Lily said. “Do you want to come to Hagrid’s with us this weekend? He said you haven’t visited him, yet, and he’s worried about you.”

“I won’t be visiting Hagrid this year,” Hermione said. “He’s been a bad influence. He was expelled a long time ago, Hazel, or have you forgotten that?”

“So you’re going to ignore _Hagrid_ , now?” Lily asked. She could feel the surprise and outrage showing on her face, and even Hermione looked apprehensive in response.

“I’m not _ignoring_ him, Hazel, I just won’t be going out of my way to have tea with the man,” Hermione said quickly.

“Hermione, you can’t just keep pushing us all away,” Lily said. “If you want to ignore me, fine, I get it, but you never sit with anybody else during classes or after, you don’t eat with anyone, you don’t study with anyone, you don’t-“

“I’m not trying to avoid anyone, Hazel, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Hermione said in her defense. “I just don’t particularly care to talk with anyone this year, that’s all.”

“That’s my point!” Lily said, a bit louder than she would have liked. Thankfully, there was nobody around at the moment to overhear their conversation, other than a few Slytherin first years that happened to be standing nearby. Lily was pretty sure she recognized one of them as they looked back at the two arguing Gryffindors, but she didn’t have the time to dwell on that matter.

Hermione stopped in the hallway once they were alone, turning to face Lily. “Would you quiet down?” she asked.

“Hermione, if you’re lonely, you can just come sit with us,” Lily offered. “You don’t have to talk, you don’t have to laugh, you can just sit there. I won’t even talk to you, if you don’t want me to. You can just sit there, and I won’t feel as bad as I do. Please?”

Hermione hesitated for a moment, seeming like she wanted to say something. Then, she turned again, this time heading in the opposite direction up towards the common room instead of downstairs where lunch was about to begin.

“Hermione!” Lily called out, trying to catch up to her friend. She held out a hand, as if to stop her, even though she was far too away to actually grab onto her robes.

“Leave me alone, Hazel,” Hermione shouted back without looking back.

Lily huffed, and stormed off in the other direction, deciding to take out her frustration on some pudding. She made a quick stop in the library first, though; she had a book to return. She ended up spending a lot more time in the library than she thought she would; she had a rather nice conversation with Madame Pince about a tome of magical creatures. She ended up checking it out for some light reading before bed before she left.

Lily ended up skipping lunch, and stayed right until the start of dinner. It was only when she was interrupted by her stomach growling in protest that she finally managed to pull herself away from the pretty librarian to begin making her way downstairs. She was feeling some chicken now that lunch had passed, and she could hardly wait.

Lily gasped in pain as she neared the top of the first landing, hand shooting up to her scar. It was throbbing again, and she leaned against the guardrails to make sure she didn’t fall off the staircases.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down again. The last thing she needed was for Malfoy or another Slytherin to see her about pass out on the steps for no reason. There were a few Ravenclaws milling about, but they paid her no mind, just as they always did. She would have appreciated some help just this once, of course, but tried not to hold it against them. She walked down the remaining stairs timidly, trying to ignore the thundering in her head, hoping it would just go away if she tried hard enough.

She joined Ron and Neville at the Gryffindor table, quickly piling food onto her plate; they were serving roast turkeys today instead, but Lily supposed that was close enough to what she wanted, so she didn’t complain. She wasn’t quite as hungry as she had been just moments ago, but she still managed to empty her first plate in record time.

“How did it go with Hermione?” Neville asked.

“I don’t get it,” Lily said shrewdly between bites of stuffing. “I just think she really doesn’t want to be ignoring us, but she just won’t come out and say it. I don’t know why she’s being so _stubborn_.”

“Just get over her,” Ron said. “It’ll be the easiest thing to do. She’s mental, anyway. It’s fine for her to go light a professor on fire when you’re about to fall off your broom, but forget about sneaking out go save a magical stone from a dark wizard.”

“Maybe she just needs some new friends,” Neville offered. “Then you wouldn’t feel as bad.”

“But who wants to hang around her?” Ron said rudely. Lily gave him a glare, and he swallowed the food in his mouth before attempting another explanation.

“What I meant to say was who else could we get to be friends with her? All the groups are pretty much set in stone, at this point.”

“Maybe some of the Ravenclaws would,” Lily muttered. “The Gryffindors won’t have her, she’s too bossy for _our_ year.” She glanced over at the Ravenclaw table, trying to spot some of them. She saw one small, blonde girl sitting over by herself that she was sure must be a first year, but she didn’t recognize any others.

“Some of the first years, maybe,” Ron said in agreement. “Our year is still upset with her, I think.”

“They are,” Lily said hotly, “And only because of you.”

“What did I do?” Ron asked, pausing before taking a large bite out of his turkey leg. Lily supposed she was a bit more rude than she should have been, but she still had a dull pounding in her head.

“They’re still stung about what you said last year,” Neville explained. “When you said they were pathetic to lose to a bunch of Gryffindors.”

“That?” Ron said with a scoff. “Blimey, _I_ didn’t even remember saying that. How did they?”

“They never forgot it,” Lily mumbled. “They’re still mad at me, too.” She glanced over at the Ravenclaw table again. None of them looked away from her, but she was pretty sure that was only because they were never looking at her to being with. She was pretty sure they simply chose to ignore her existence.

“Maybe Ginny knows some first years,” Neville said.

“Where is Ginny, anyway?” Lily asked. “I feel like I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“She’s been around,” Ron said. “She has her own friends, doesn’t she?”

“But-“ Lily started.

“Oh, hurry and eat, would you?” Ron interrupted. He never seemed to enjoy talking about his sister, even though he had no problems discussing his brothers. “You’re supposed to be meeting Flitwick later.”

Lily gasped, dropping her fork loudly onto her plate. “I forgot!”

“How did you manage that?” Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Lily glanced up at the staff table, noticing that Flitwick was already gone from it. Hagrid waved at her, of course, and she returned the wave, of course, even if she was immensely distracted.

“I should hurry,” she said, quickly shoveling the last half of her plate into her mouth. Judging by Neville’s reaction, the noises she was making were assuredly disgusting, but she didn’t care; Ron made much worse _every_ time he ate.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Neville said.

“Won’t,” Lily managed between mouthfuls. She downed the last of her pumpkin juice, threw her bag around her shoulder, and then hopped off the bench.

“See you later,” Ron called after her. Lily threw them a wave, receiving one in return from Neville. Ron was too busy eating to notice it, but she appreciated the effort he had shown in saying anything at all. It was a marked improvement over his previous attempts of nothing at all.

Lily left the Great Hall just as Parvati and Lavender were coming in, and she quickly tried to hide her face so Lavender wouldn’t see.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lavender asked.

Lily groaned, but looked up to meet Lavender’s pretty, gray eyes. Lily always wondered where the shade came from; she’d never seen it before on any Muggles. Then again, Lavender was a pure-blood wizard, and they could have all sorts of weird colors. Madame Hooch even had yellow ones, but those always unsettled Lily, while Lavender’s felt more comforting.

“I have a meeting with Professor Flitwick,” Lily said. She supposed there was no harm in telling the truth. She was still hoping to make up with Lavender, anyway, so lying would do her no favors.

“Going to discuss your failing grades?” Lavender said while crossing her arms. Lily tried to hide her smirk; Lavender just had a complete inability to seem threatening to Lily. It was hard to feel threatened by somebody you’ve seen making baby noises at a cat.

“Wrong class,” Lily corrected, “And my Transfiguration marks are fine this year, thank you very much. How are you today, Parvati?”

“I’m doing well, thank you for asking,” Parvati answered, trying to pull Lavender away from their fellow Gryffindor. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk. Lily knew she just didn’t want to hear two of her friends arguing over something stupid for the thousandth time. Lily was done arguing, of course, but Lavender could go on for a while.

“How’s Padma doing?” Lily asked, trying to continue being nice. Maybe doing so would set a better example for Lavender.

“She’s well, too,” Parvati said. She was forced to stop in the doorway as Lavender wrenched her arm free. The pale-skinned girl pouted as she crossed her arms once more.

“That’s good,” Lily said, taking a step backwards. She did want to chat, actually, but she really should be going.

“Has Hermione come down to dinner yet?” Parvati asked. She always seemed to be more worried for Hermione than even Lily.

Lily stopped moving. “No, she went up to the common room after class, I thought.”

“She did,” Parvati confirmed, “and she locked herself in the dorm for a bit.”

“That was annoying,” Lavender grumbled.

“Is she okay?” Lily asked, trying to think if anything she’d said had gone too far. She concluded that everything she said was perfectly reasonable, and that this was just Hermione being melodramatic again. She felt like Hermione said more hurtful things than she did.

Parvati shrugged. “I thought we heard her leave before we did, but nobody ever came down the stairs. Maybe she just went down to the library, and we missed her.”

“She couldn’t have been, I was in there until right before dinner,” Lily said. “You’re certain she didn’t come down earlier?”

“No-“ Parvati started to say.

“I thought you had somewhere to be?” Lavender said with a huff.

“Right,” Lily said, turning and giving them a wave over her shoulder. Ron was right, anyway; she really did need to just stop worrying about what Hermione was doing. It was well past time to move on.

Lily could hear Parvati say something to Lavender in an angry whisper, but she was already too far away to make out the contents. She thought she definitely heard the words ‘be nice,’ though, and that made her feel slightly better.

Lily bumped into Malfoy and his goons coming down from a class on her way up. Malfoy somehow managed to not notice her, which she took as her lucky chance. As soon as they were far enough away, she whipped out her wand and pointed it straight at the blonde boy.

“ _Gravaddo_ ,” she whispered. Malfoy sneezed, and then started rubbing at his nose. Lily felt pleased at that, and renewed her ascent after tucking her wand back into her robes; that was the first Lockhart spell that actually did anything at all, assuming it wasn’t just a big coincidence.

Lily took the steps upward as quickly as she could, since she was already running late for their very first meeting. She passed a few more Ravenclaws and Gryffindors as she went up, and briefly exchanged a friendly hug with Katie and the other Chasers. They invited her to come to dinner with them, and was legitimately sad to turn them down, but she _did_ have to go. She knocked on Flitwick’s door rapidly once she got there. She was almost out of breath; she was so excited she’d run up the last few flights of steps. Everybody kept promising her endurance would get better the more she played Quidditch, but she didn’t see how flying on a broom could help with climbing stairs.

“Come in,” Flitwick squeaked as the door opened. Lily could see him placing his wand back on his desk.

“Hello, Professor,” Lily said between gasps for air. She leaned down on her knees, trying to steady her breathing. She heard a giggle from in front of her, and saw a blonde Ravenclaw sitting in front of Flitwick’s desk, hands folded in her lap. Lily recognized her, even if she didn’t know her name; she was a prefect that hung around Percy all the time.

“Hello, Miss Potter,” Flitwick said, hopping down from his seat. “You really didn’t need to run, we would gladly have waited for you to finish your supper.”

“Sorry, Professor,” Lily said as she wiped off her forehead. She took a look around while she tried to regain control, as she’d never been in the Charms professor’s office before. Despite being the head of Ravenclaw, or perhaps because of it, the professor’s office was far more cluttered than McGonagall’s (now _that_ was an office Lily was intimately familiar with).

He had dozens of piles of books scattered across the room, with a dozen more laying open on his desk. His piles of papers and assignments to grade were also scattered across the room, some laying forgotten on the floor. Lily guessed that he simply put things wherever there happened to be space for them. She also now knew what happened to that batch of essays the Gryffindors never got graded during the last year.

“Sorry, Professor,” Lily said once more, finally coming in and closing the door behind her. “I couldn’t help it, I was excited.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being excited!” Flitwick said in an excited tone to prove his point. “Now, do you have any idea of what we’ll be doing today?”  
“No, Professor,” Lily said, eyes flicking over to the Ravenclaw prefect once more. She was apparently going to sit in on it, whatever it was.

Flitwick let out a gasp of surprise as he followed Lily’s gaze. “Sorry, Miss Potter, it slipped my mind. This is Penelope Clearwater. I just thought I’d introduce you to her today, as she’ll be the one practicing with you in the off weeks.

“Hello!” Penelope said with a cheery wave. Lily returned it, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed at her previous behavior. She could feel herself blush, and she scratched at the back of her neck.

“Nice to meet you,” she said after far too long of a pause.

“How much time do you have before your patrol, Penelope?” Flitwick asked.

“Only ten minutes, Professor,” Penelope answered with a glance down at her pocket watch. “I’m supposed to meet with Percival down in the Great Hall. We were both assigned the dungeons tonight.”

“You best get on your way, then,” Flitwick decided. “Don’t forget to dress warmly, dear, those dungeons are frightfully cold. Dumbledore used to have my classroom down there when I first started at Hogwarts, but Professor Slughorn offered to switch with me. Said it’d be better for his Potions, and he wouldn’t have to walk as far from his office.”

“Slughorn, Professor?” Lily and Penelope asked together. It wasn’t a name Lily had ever heard before, but she didn’t know why Penelope would be asking.

“A delightful man,” Flitwick said. “Retired the same year Professor Snape got started. He said he asked for it, but he kept finding excuses to return to the castle for the next three years. Kept leaving things behind, you see.”

Flitwick chuckled fondly, staring off into recollection. Lily exchanged a glance with Penelope, who quickly stood from her chair.

“Well,” she said, “I’ll be off then, Professor, if you don’t need me tonight.”

“Yes, Penelope, take care,” Flitwick said as he snapped back to attention.

“I’ll see you next Thursday, Potter,” Penelope said as she passed. She clamped a hand down on Lily’s shoulder, and Lily couldn’t help but look away once their eyes met. “There’s a classroom up on the fourth floor, the Ancient Runes club uses it for their meetings. We’ll meet there. It’ll be empty on Thursdays.”

“Okay,” Lily said quickly. Penelope gave one more pat, then left the room, the door clicking shut behind her.

“Now, today we’ll be working on the Disarming Charm, and then, if we still have time, we’ll start our _actual_ project,” Flitwick said, swiping his wand off his desk and gesturing for Lily to do the same.

Lily drew her own wand, then hesitated. The office space was far too cramped for practicing any spells, and she really didn’t want to cause any damage to the surrounding texts. Pince would _kill_ her if she ever found out.

“Should we be doing this in here, Professor?” she asked, wand resting laxly between her fingertips.

“We won’t be doing the rest in here, no,” Flitwick said, “but it should be fine for today. Are you familiar with the spell?”

“I know it knocks the wand out of your opponent’s hand, Professor,” Lily said. She also knew they weren’t supposed to be learning it yet, even though all the books agree that it’s actually a very simple spell. It wasn’t part of the curriculum until next year, as far as she knew.

“The incantation is _Expelliarmus,_ ” Flitwick said without actually casting the spell. “Just point your wand at the wand you’re aiming for and that’ll do for the movement. Would you like me to demonstrate first?”

“ _Expelliarmus_ ,” Lily said, pointing her wand directly at Flitwick’s. It flew wildly into the air, as if yanked by an invisible force, and clattered amongst the professor’s piles of books.

“Oh, well done, well done,” Flitwick said, clapping his hands together in an excited manner. Lily felt proud of herself, even if she did know it was _supposed_ to be easy.

“Thanks, Professor,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck again.

“Five points to Gryffindor,” Flitwick said as he stood on his toes to grab his wand. His hand couldn’t quite reach, so Lily grabbed it for him. He seemed thankful, and struck his stance again.

“Are you supposed to give out points outside of class, Professor?” Lily asked. She didn’t want to get him into any trouble. She was pretty sure it was fine, though, but she’d only ever seen Snape _take away_ points outside of classes. She’d certainly never seen anybody be _given_ them.

“Professors may give out or take away points for any thing they wish,” Flitwick said, “so long as it is justifiable. I think an exceptional cast on the first try on a spell deemed above your level is worth it.”

Lily blushed again, feeling more pride well up in her. Flitwick had been her favorite professor last year, and he was quickly earning that spot again. Not that he had much competition, of course. Lily was too terrible at Transfiguration for McGonagall to take the spot, and while Sprout was nice, she was too focused on Neville’s accomplishments (and Lily hardly paid attention in there anyway). Snape, Binns, and Lockhart she didn’t _want_ the attention from, and she never saw Sinistra enough to even consider her.

“A few more, Miss Potter, and then I think we shall move on,” Flitwick said. Lily complied, casting the spell to disarm the professor once more.

After half an hour of practice, Lily had worked up quite a sweat. It was getting _very_ warm in the cozy office; Flitwick was showing signs of tiring as well. Lily had to keep fetching his wand for him; it had a tendency to fly up into high places, and without his wand, Flitwick had no way of getting to them. She had to climb up a pile of books once, all while saying a quiet apology to the resident librarian.

“I think it’s time to move into the classroom,” Flitwick said she handed over the most recent attempt.

Lily tucked her wand into her robes. Flitwick frowned at that, and so she took the hint, quickly taking the wand back out.

“Does that mean we’re starting the other spell, Professor?” she asked eagerly.

Flitwick smiled. “It certainly does, Miss Potter.”

Flitwick waved his wand at the wall of his office, and the books between wall and them moved aside as a door grew into the side. Flitwick flicked his wand at it once more, and it opened to reveal the empty Charms classroom.

Lily walked into the room in awe. “How did you do that, Professor?”

The Professor’s office wasn’t even _next_ to his classroom. Some professors had it set up that way, to be sure (Snape and Lockhart both had theirs _in_ their classrooms), but Flitwick didn’t even keep his on the same floor.

Flitwick smiled again as he waved his wand again, lighting up the space around them. This was _definitely_ their classroom. Malfoy’s split bag was laying discarded in a back corner, and the Slytherins had Charms just before dinner today.

“Every Hogwarts professor has a special way of quickly reaching their own classroom and office,” Flitwick said with a smile. “We get to pick it when we join. I won’t mention what the others chose, of course, but this is mine.”

“When we get to learn magic like that?” Lily asked excitedly. _This_ was the kind of stuff she’d been waiting for, not turning mice into snuffboxes or making people sneeze.

“It’s NEWT-level, I’m afraid,” Flitwick said with a sigh. He sounded almost as disappointed as Lily felt. “Although, with your quick progress, you might be able to pull it off in your fifth year. Perhaps I’ll even show you myself.”

Lily smiled, a gesture returned by the professor, who quickly struck his battle stance. Lily followed suit, forming the same stance he did.

“Now, this one _will_ require a demonstration. Try to disarm me, and then watch what I do.”

“ _Expelliarmus,”_ Lily said, wand aimed at his.

“ _Reddimitto_ ,” Flitwick said quickly, with a sharp flick upward on his wand. Lily didn’t know what happened, but just a split second later her own wand flew out of her wand. She turned to follow its path, mouth opened in amazement.

“What was _that_?” she asked.

“That, Miss Potter, was the Reflection Charm,” Flitwick said, mustering up an ounce of pride in his voice. “And that is what we will be working on for the next year.”

“It’ll take that long?” Lily asked, running forward to grab her wand.

“It won’t, and it will,” Flitwick said.

“I’m confused.” Lily scratched the back of her head, right where she had the hair tied up. Normally, she’d let it down once back in the common room, since keeping it up too long hurt her head. It’d still be a while before she got that chance tonight, even if she felt like it was only making her pounding head worse. She tried to ignore it once more; she really needed to concentrate on what she was about to be doing.

“The Reflection Charm can be used to reflect the owner’s spell right back at them,” Flitwick said, doing the flicking motion one more time so Lily could see it.  
Lily frowned. “Why doesn’t everybody use that instead of the Shield Charm?”

Flitwick smiled. “Good observation. It’s not because the charm is difficult to pull off, no, in some cases it’s even quite easy. It’s because every spell has a different timing for a reflection, and those can only be learned through practice.”

Lily smiled. “How many will we be learning, Professor?”

Flitwick smiled in return, matching the younger girl’s energy. “If you can maintain your current pace? I think we’ll manage at least two dozen spells.”

“How did you learn so many yourself, Professor?”

Flitwick smiled eagerly this time, clearly anticipating the question. “Because I _invented_ the charm, of course.”

Lily lowered her wand. “You, Professor?”

“Me,” Flitwick said proudly, puffing out his chest. “I used it back in my dueling days. Won me many a tournament singlehandedly, it did. I let it be published once I retired to Hogwarts. That’s how it ended up in your book, there. I got excited when I saw it, and I knew it’d have to be the one.”

Lily let her mouth fall open again. “Professor? Do we ever get to make our own spells?”

“I’m glad you asked, Miss Potter,” Flitwick said as he hopped in place, seeming genuinely happy that the question made its appearance. “We offer a course on spell development here at Hogwarts starting in your sixth year. In order to place into it, you’ll need to score an O on either your Charms or Transfiguration OWLs, as well as score an O in both Magical Runes and Arithmancy.”

Flitwick produced a pamphlet from his robes with a swish, handing it over to Lily’s outstretched hand. She flipped through it eagerly. There were all sorts of diagrams and letters she didn’t understand, but it made her heart thump wildly to even think of the possibilities.

“I only need an O in Charms, Professor? Not Transfiguration?” If that was true, she just might have a chance; she’d definitely never get an O in both.

“That is correct, Miss Potter. You will also need to take at least Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as electives starting next year, and then master them as well.”

Lily considered it, placing the pamphlet carefully in her robe, right next to where she was currently storing the map. She’d have to look at it more, later. She knew Katie was taking Ancient Runes; she could ask her what it was like.

“Professor Babbling teaches the course,” Flitwick continued, “although Minerva and I both assist whenever we can find the time. I certainly recommend it, it’s where I invented the Reflection Charm.”

“I wanted to take Care of Magical Creatures, Professor,” Lily said, fidgeting nervously with her wand. It sounded wonderful from what she’d heard from older students, although the current professor was set to retire after this year. Still, though, she liked animals in general, and she _really_ wanted to know more about magical ones.

“You can always take more than 2 electives, Miss Potter, although your schedule will certainly be packed if you do. For now, though, at least consider it. I think you’d do great in the subject.”

Lily had a feeling that she’d likely do exactly as Flitwick suggested, even if it ended up making her miserable from the workload. Flitwick seemed to know it as well, as he spoke with nothing but confidence.

Flitwick took his stand back up, ready to practice the spell.

Lily took the stance as well, trying not to let her thoughts distract her.

“What do I do, Professor?” she asked. She knew the incantation, but she didn’t know the timing or the wand movement. She saw the flick, but she didn’t know the timing.

“When I attempt to disarm you, simply speak the incantation, and flick your wand upwards at exactly the same time. Normally you don’t want to flick until the last two syllables, but as I explained before, every spell has a different timing. Due to the speed of _Expelliarmus,_ you will need to flick immediately. Are you ready?”

Lily bit her lip, but nodded.

“ _Expelliarmus,_ ” Flitwick said, flicking his wand forward slightly.

“ _Reddimitto_ ,” Lily said, flicking her wand up slightly too late. It flew out of her grasp, clattering on the ground behind her.

“Let’s try again, Miss Potter,” Flitwick said. “I don’t expect you to pull it off until our _third_ session, but I’d love for you to surprise me.”

Lily tried, tried, and tried again, but she didn’t manage to get the spell working in the next hour. She thought she was close, though. The last ten minutes her wand hadn’t flown quite as far away, and she could have sworn Flitwick’s wand moved in his hand slightly. That could have just been the professor’s own exhaustion, though, as her own hands were starting to become unsteady as well. Lily’s headache was starting to get worse, as well, but she was pretty sure that was due to the lack of drinks; she could really use a tall glass of water right about now.

“That’ll be all for this week, Miss Potter,” Flitwick announced after Lily’s wand almost rolled beneath the door.

Lily wiped the sweat from her forehead, taking in a deep breath. She took a step forward, tucking her wand back into her robes. She smiled.

“Thanks, Professor, I-“

_Kill_ , Lily heard hear, causing her to freeze. Her body suddenly became cold, the sweat causing a chill. She doubled over, clutching at her head as the pounding worsened.

_Kill, must feed, kill, kill._

“Professor, what is that?” Lily asked, pointing her wand at the walls, trying to find the source, one hand still clutched to her scar.

“Miss Potter?” Flitwick asked in a confused and worried tone. “Are you feeling well? Should I call for Pomfrey?”

“Do you- can’t you hear that?” Lily asked.

_Kill, hungry, kill,_ the voice said, sound trailing off as it passed away from their location.

“Perhaps I worked you harder than I thought,” Flitwick said. “I had hoped to review what we’ve done today before we split off, but perhaps you should return to your dorm and get some well deserved rest.”

“But-“ Lily started, biting her lip to cut herself off. The last thing she needed was for Flitwick to think she was lying for attention the same way Gran had done.

“Would you like me to walk you upstairs?” Flitwick said as he stowed his wand in his robes. He seemed genuinely worried for her safety. Lily suddenly became _very_ aware of how frightened she was, and how she must appear. She almost felt like she could throw up at any moment, and she was certain she looked the same.

Lily tried to stop her shaking legs, to steady herself. She’d never heard anything like _that_ before. She did her best to brush it off, excusing it as a passing fancy of her tired and addled mind.

“Sorry, Professor,” she said, voice still shaky. “I think you’re right, maybe I just need some rest. I just thought I heard something, that’s all.”

“Very well, Miss Potter,” Flitwick said, heading back towards his office door. “I shall see you tomorrow morning for our regular class meeting. Remember: I must ask that you do _not_ attempt to teach your friends what you’ve learned here tonight. I would not want you all hurting yourselves outside of a controlled environment.”

“I promise, Professor,” Lily said walking quickly towards the classroom door. “Goodnight, Professor,” she said as she opened the door to leave.

“Goodnight, Lily,” she heard as she closed the door behind her. Lily started running, heading for the direction the voice had gone in. If she was fast, she could still find what it was, and she could prove to herself that she wasn’t going crazy, even if that would probably be better in the long run. It was on the same floor, definitely. It seemed to be coming from below, and heading up to them, based on the way the voice trailed off.

Lily turned the corner near the bathrooms, and slipped, sliding a good two meters in the water on the ground, her ankle giving out beneath her. She spun on the tide, and her head collided with the wall in a _crunch_. She let out a moan as the lay on the ground, hoping nobody was around to see that. She rubbed at her head to make sure it wasn’t split open again. Then she stayed in that position for a good minute; she’d definitely vomit from the now worse pain in her head if she tried to stand. When she did finally manage the strength to sit up, a pain shot through her foot, confirming the twisted ankle. She stood anyway, one hand leaning on the wall for support.

After one step, she almost collapsed to the ground once more. She let out a groan as she fell to one knee. Lily looked around for something to help her walk, then froze in fear once more.

Mrs. Norris, the poor feline, was hanging from a nearby sconce by her tail. She was frozen. Stiff.

Dead.

Lily couldn’t bring herself to move, even with the water on the floor seeping through her robes. She sat transfixed, eyes locked onto the deceased feline. She couldn’t help but think about Weasley, and how glad she was that he wasn’t here.

Her eyes finally noticed the blood writing on the wall above Mrs. Norris.

_The Chamber of Secrets has been opened_

_Enemies of the heir… beware_

Lily heard movement coming from down the hall. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain from her ankle, and made a break for it. She whipped the map out of her robes as she ran, quickly murmuring the keywords necessary to make it function.

There were students coming from the other direction as well as from behind. This escapade had clearly been timed well; multiple classes were getting out at once, and the students were heading downstairs for a late supper.

Lily’s eyes scanned the map, trying to find an escape route. All the classrooms were empty nearby, but if they conducted a search, they’d find her easily, and she would _not_ be blamed for this.

Her eyes caught onto a hallway she couldn’t see in her actual surroundings. There was a tapestry where the entrance should be. She jumped on the chance, shoving herself behind the tapestry and into a hidden corridor.

She whispered a silent thanks to the Marauders (as well as Fred and George for giving her the map) as she heard the students pass by on the other side. She lit her wand so she could see, and watched the helpful tool for any sign of danger. She was extremely thankful that they didn’t keep any portraits on this hallway; she’d still have been easily found if there were.

She heard a few screams come from the hallway, and she took that as her cue to leave. She made her way through the darkness, eyeing the map to see where she was going. There were stairs cut into the stone, leading upwards, so she knew it at least went that direction. Some secret hallways were labelled with their destinations, but this was not one of them. Her dot disappeared as she started hobbling up the staircase.

Her dot appeared back on the map on the seventh floor, after climbing for what felt like ages. She was breathing hard by the time she pushed herself out and back into the light; the steps were far steeper in there than she was used to, and her ankle was screaming in protest the entire way. She was also covered in dust, which made her nose itch.

“All students will return to their dormitories immediately,” Professor McGonagall’s voice rang out through the castle. “All staff will proceed to the second-floor corridor immediately. All prefects are advised to watch out for stragglers.”

Lily took that as another cue to leave, and quickly made her way over to the Fat Lady’s portrait.

“Abacus,” Lily gasped out as she bent over for air, leaning her body weight on a nearby wall. She desperately hoped the Fat Lady wouldn’t try to ask her any questions, if only just this once.

“Yes, yes, hurry inside,” the Fat Lady responded as she swung open. Lily quickly crawled through the hole into the crowded common room; she really couldn’t bring herself to walk anymore. Her fellow students were currently standing around, discussing what could possibly be the cause of this lockdown.

“There you are,” Ron said once he saw Lily. He pulled her aside to where he and Neville were sitting in the far corner, offering her a shoulder to lean on as they crossed the packed space. He brushed his hand off on his robe as he sat down, clearly disgusted by how dirty it was.

“Why are you so dirty?” Neville asked curiously. “And why are you soaking wet?”

“And how did practice go?’ Ron asked curiously. “Lucky you had it before this lockdown, huh?”

“Nevermind that,” Lily said in a harsh whisper. “I have something I need to tell you both, but you have to promise not to say anything to anybody else.”

“Promise,” they both said at once. Lily was relieved; it was nice to have back-up.

“Mrs. Norris is dead,” she whispered.

Ron snorted. “Really, now, what actually happened?”

“I just told you,” Lily said. “I was coming out of the session with Flitwick, when I heard this voice saying it wanted to kill something. I followed it around on the second floor, when I slipped on some water near the bathrooms. I hurt my ankle, so I was just sitting there, and that’s when I saw it.”

The color faded out of both faces. They exchanged a glance, then Ron leaned back into his chair, scratching at his chin where a pimple was forming.

“You’re sure she’s dead?” Neville whispered.

“She looked pretty dead,” Lily said, biting her lip. “Merlin, what do I do? What if they think I did it?”

“Did anybody see you?” Ron asked.

“No,” Lily said, quickly taking her tie off so she could breath easier, loosening the collar right after. She still didn’t feel like she was getting enough air, and now that the panic was going away, the pounding headache was coming back, and she was starting to feel sick again.

“How did you get back here?” Neville asked.

“I used the map,” Lily said.

“The map?” They both asked, confused.

“I need you to promise again,” Lily said quickly.

“Promise,” they both said at once.

“Fred and George gave me a map for my birthday. It shows me all of Hogwarts, and where everybody is at the time. It also shows me secret passages, and how to take them. That’s how I got back here without being seen.”

“Wicked,” Ron said. “How come they never told me about it?”

“I don’t know, Ron, but that’s not the issue right now, is it?” Lily said sharply, undoing the top button so she could get more air. She wanted to take off the vest, too, but that wouldn’t be appropriate in this setting.

“Calm down, Lily,” Neville said, placing a hand on hers.

“Yeah, mate, nobody knows you were there,” Ron said. “You didn’t actually do it, though, did you?”

“No, Ron,” Lily said, shooting him a glare.

“I was just checking,” Ron said, holding his hands up. “I believe you, I just didn’t want to go around defending you if you actually _did_ do it.”

“There was something else, too,” Lily said.

“What’s that?”

“There was some writing in the wall in blood,” Lily asked. “It said something about the Chamber of Secrets, and how enemies of the heir should be afraid, or something like that.”

“What does that mean?” Neville asked.

“I don’t know, I was hoping you would,” Lily said, pulling at her hair.

“Calm down, Lily,” Ron said, placing his hand on Lily’s other one. “Really, it’ll be alright. People will start staring if they notice you’re freaking out, and then we won’t be able to help you.”

Lily bit her lip, but did her best to stop all other signs of panic. She put her hands in her lap, where she fiddled with her wand. She looked around at the rest of the common room, but nobody seemed to be paying attention to a scared second-year. Well, she could see Colin Creevey paying attention to her from across the common room, but that was normal. So long as he wasn’t snapping pictures of her, she supposed that was fine, just this once.

“I should go change my robes,” Lily said.

“Good idea,” Ron said. “We’ll stay down here and cover for you if anyone asks. And don’t mention the voice to anybody; I’ll explain later, but you have to trust me on this.”

“Thanks,” Lily said, hopping up and quickly heading upstairs before anybody could see. She did her best to ignore her screaming ankle, leaning heavily on the banister as she took each step. She hid her face in her hands as she passed Parvati and Lavender, who were coming down. They didn’t seem to notice her.

Lily closed the door gently behind her, then started rubbing the dust out of her hair as best she could. She threw her sodden rob onto the ground, then ripped off the vest, tossing it into the pile, the shirt following soon after.

Lily stopped, startled as she was halfway through pulling off her skirt. She could have sworn she heard someone gasp nearby. The room was, as far as she could tell, completely empty.

“Not again,” Lily said muttered as she continued undressing.

Lily threw on her new clothes as quickly as she could. She pulled a new skirt on first and was halfway through buttoning a shirt when the door opened. Lily squeaked in fright, wondering who would dare walk in without knocking.

“I apologize, Miss Potter,” Professor McGonagall said as she entered the room and closed the door behind her, “But I’m afraid this is urgent.”

“Professor,” Lily said, startled, “I’m changing-“

“Yes, I see that,” McGonagall said. “And why, may I ask, where you seen entering the common room sodden wet and covered in dust?”

“I, err-“ Lily stammered, trying to find words in her labyrinth of a brain.

“Never mind that, Miss Potter, I’m sure I don’t want to know,” McGonagall said. “Filius has already cleared you of any wrongdoing. Do you know what I am referring of?”

“Err-“ Lily stalled while she tried to come up with a lie. “Some of the older students said something about Filch’s cat, Professor, but that was all I heard.”

“Quite,” Professor McGonagall said, sharp eyes locked onto Lily’s own. It took every ounce of willpower to not look away.

“Is Mrs. Norris going to be okay, Professor?” Lily asked, trying to pretend she didn’t know the truth.

“She will be fine,” McGonagall said. “She has been petrified. We will be able to revive her once Professor Sprout’s mandrakes are fully grown.”

“P-petrified?” Lily stuttered, feeling absolutely relief as she sat down onto her mattress.

“I’m afraid so.”

Lily looked back up briefly. “Why are you telling me this, Professor?”

“Because, Miss Potter, from all reports not a single soul was seen fleeing the scene that should not have been there.”

“Professor, I-“

“I am not accusing you, Miss Potter, although I will admit, to my shame, that my mind did arrive at that conclusion first.” McGonagall didn’t seem to be lying, and Lily relaxed a bit.

“Then why are you-“

“I am here you ask one question of you, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said sternly, eyes locked onto Lily’s again. This time she did look away, although only briefly.

“Professor?” Lily asked, trying not to squirm anymore than she already had.

“Have you let anybody borrow your cloak this year?”

“No, Professor,” Lily said, relieved that it was a question she could actually answer.

“May I see the cloak?” McGonagall asked, holding out her hand.

“Err,” Lily stammered again, starting to fidget with her hands. “Actually, Professor, I- err- That is, I, err-“

“Time is of the essence, Miss Potter,” McGonagall interrupted, pushing her hand further forward.

“Somebody took it,” Lily blurted out. “It was gone after the Sorting, I tried looking for it so I could sneak out, but-“

“But it was already gone,” McGonagall said, looking pale. “That is what I was afraid of.”

“Professor?” Lily said, worried that her admission could get her into trouble.

“Alert me at once if it returns, Potter,” McGonagall said as she fixed her hat back onto her head. “I must go let the Headmaster know immediately.”

McGonagall turned and left the room before Lily could ask any further questions.

Lily continued sitting there, shirt half buttoned (thankfully she started at the top), feeling lost and confused, but also relieved. It only occurred to her much later, as she was failing to fall asleep, that she realized she probably should have told the professor about the voice she had heard.


	15. The Ancient Runes Club

“Oh, sod off,” Lily said quietly for the tenth time that day as a familiar figure approached her once again. Ron sniggered from her side, doing his best to hide his smile so Lily wouldn’t say anything.

“Hullo, Lily,” Colin Creevey said while fiddling nervously with his camera in hand. It still had a large bulb attached to the top. Lily didn’t know how the mousy-faced boy could balance it; it seemed too top heavy.

“Hullo, Colin,” she replied, her voice devoid of any warmth. She was getting really sick of Colin following her around constantly, and even more tired of hearing the distinctive _click_ of Colin snapping a picture of her. Even Malfoy was starting to notice, and she was _really_ tired of the things he was saying during Potions.

“Do you mind if I get a picture of you?” Colin asked, tapping the camera he was holding. “I never got my last one back from Lockhart, and I was wondering if-“

“No,” Lily said. She pushed past the boy; they were in the process of leaving the common room when the first-year rat approached them.

“No problem, then,” Colin quickly said, backing up. “Sorry for bothering you, I’ll see you around.”

“Right,” Lily said, turning for the exit. At least Colin was learning, even if it was very slow. Maybe tomorrow he’d only ask _nine_ times. She couldn’t hear Ron and Neville following behind her; the common room was quite crowded. The first years, second years, and third years all managed to snag a weekend with relatively little work to do. The upper years didn’t, of course, but they were mostly in the library. Even with that advantage, they still didn’t get the cough in front of the fireplace, and so decided to venture off into the cold, _freezing_ castle. Lily’s thighs were already chilled, even with her robes tightly closed. She _hated_ skirts. She didn’t understand why none of the other girls ever complained.

“You should be nicer to him,” Ron said bravely after they left the warm, comfortable common room behind. “He just likes you, is all.”

“I don’t like _him_ ,” Lily grumbled. “He only asked permission this time because I threw a fit when he _didn’t_ the other hundred times.”

“Good times,” Ron said fondly. Lily was pretty sure he egged the boy on just because he thought it was _funny_. Lily was biding her time. She’d get her revenge eventually. She had a feeling Lavender liked him, but she wasn’t quite mad enough at either of them to encourage _that_. At least Lavender was talking to her again, though; the girl cried the entire night after the attack on Mrs. Norris, and then begged for Lily’s forgiveness the entirety of the next day. That was unnecessary, of course, since Lily forgave her on the _first_ attempt, but Lavender could be very dramatic.

“He’s been hanging around Ginny, did you know?” Lily asked. A shiver went down her spine as they passed a particularly drafty window. Lily couldn’t stand how cold it got here so quickly; it wasn’t even Halloween yet, and she was freezing to death. She could have sworn the closest suit of armor had _frost_ on it as they passed by.

“He has?” Ron said, warmth leaving his voice. “What’s he want with her, do you reckon?”

“They’re in the same year,” Neville said.

“Still, though,” Ron grumbled.

“She said they’ve been studying together with the rest of the first year Gryffindors,” Lily explained. “They’ve formed a study group, apparently.”

She thought she managed to hide her hurt feelings well enough; she found out when she asked Ginny to study Transfiguration with her and completely got blown off. At least the first-year girl seemed sad about it. Lily got the feeling she wasn’t super fond of her fellow Gryffindor first years. She saw her with a Ravenclaw girl far more often, and once even a Slytherin, although that could have just been her eyes playing tricks on her.

“Unnatural, that is,” Ron complained. Lily and Neville both chose to ignore it. Lily, for one, didn’t understand why it was an issue, but she wasn’t going to push Ron into an explanation. They reached the staircase after passing several yawning paintings. Lily didn’t know what they were so sleepy for; it’s not like they had anything they actually needed to _do_.

“Where are we heading, anyway?” Ron asked after a few more minutes of silence, hands shoved in his pockets. Lily’s own hands were trailing the guardrails of the staircase; they liked to move too frequently for her to ever feel safe. She’d never seen one move while somebody was _on_ them, but it was better to be safe. It was really only a matter of time.

“Out,” Lily answered, taking a brief chance to rub her legs for warmth once they reached the next landing; they had to wait for Neville to untangle himself from the false step. He almost always fell through it, even when reminded to skip it. Ron and Lily stopped trying ages ago. It was a pain to help him, as well. He tended to pull people in with him, and then it was all an even bigger mess. Better to just let him get out on his own. It was better for the boy that way.

“I thought you were cold,” Ron said, turning around to face Neville’s shame. He tended to get impatient. “It’s only going to be worse for you outside.”

“The library, then,” Lily suggested. She mostly just wanted to be away from prying eyes. Everybody was still talking about the Chamber of Secrets at every opportunity, and that made her feel anxious. Despite McGonagall saying she was clear, she couldn’t help but feel worried about it.

“Not a chance,” Ron said, snorting. Lily couldn’t say she was surprised; Neville would study with her if she asked, but Ron only ever did it when he absolutely needed to. It was a bit annoying, to be perfectly honest.

“Where do you suggest we go, then?” Lily snapped.

“We can go outside, I suppose,” Ron said. “It’s really not _that_ cold out.”

Lily grumbled an insult under her breath, but Ron didn’t seem to notice. Neville finally managed to get himself free, and he took the last few steps far more carefully. He looked a bit embarrassed, but Lily was pretty sure he was getting used to it by now. If you were walking with Neville Longbottom back up to the Gryffindor Common Room, it was expected that he’d get stuck _somewhere_. It was as natural as falling asleep during a lecture from Professor Binns.

“What about Hagrid’s?’ Neville suggested. “It’ll be warm in there.”

“Can’t, mate, he said he’ll be busy tending his pumpkins for the weekend,” Ron reminded him. They were getting _really_ big, and Hagrid didn’t want them coming by until they were gone. They were still attracting Flesh-Eating Slugs, and he didn’t want any of them getting bit.

“Right,” Neville said reluctantly. “I forgot. What else could we do?”

Lily had to admit, she never expected a free weekend to be _boring_. She wasn’t even tired enough to take a nap after their Quidditch practice in the morning. Her hair was still wet from the shower she took afterwards, which certainly didn’t help her feel any warmer.

“We could always check out one of the secret tunnels on the map,” Lily suggested. She was itching to do so, since there were still so many that didn’t have a label on them. She enjoyed the map far more now that Neville and Ron knew about it.

“What’s the point without the cloak?” Ron groaned. “Half of them head off campus, you said so yourself. How are we going to avoid getting caught?”

“Fine, then,” Lily said in a huff. She resisted the urge to cross her arms; Ron’s new thing was teasing her about it. He claimed it made her look too much like his mother. It turned out to be a good suggestion, too. She stumbled on one of the steps as they crossed to the fourth floor, and barely caught herself in time by grabbing onto the railing. She wouldn’t have been able to blame Dobby for that one, although she could blame her sore legs from practice.

“We could play some exploding snap next to the lake,” Neville suggested. “It’s not too windy out today.”

“Left the cards upstairs,” Ron grumbled.

“What clubs are meeting today?” Lily asked.

“On a Saturday?” Ron asked. “You really want to join a Saturday club and waste all our weekends?”

“It’s not a waste if we’re having _fun_ , Ron,” Lily said.

“Saturday is Knitting, Ancient Runes, Sphinx, and Potions clubs,” Neville said, counting them each off on his fingers.

“Throw Potions out,” Ron demanded, “Snape supervises, and I’ve had enough of him in my life, thank you very much.”

“What about the art club?” Lily asked. “They meet on Saturday, too.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Sure, Lily, let’s join the _art_ club. That sounds like a _great_ idea.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Lily asked.

“What’s the point in joining when none of us are any good at it?” Ron said in the same whiney tone.

“I draw all the time!” Lily said. “And- and I can paint, too. I just haven’t done it in a while, is all.”

“Well, you go right ahead and waste your time,” Ron said. “Might as well join the _knitting_ club while you’re at it, if you’re interested.”

Lily was stung by that, and she quickly dropped the subject. She let the boys fall ahead of her, so they could lead the way instead. Neville glanced back at her with a worried look, then turned back to Ron.

“What about Ancient Runes, then?” Neville said. “We can compromise.”

“None of us are taking Ancient Runes, Nev,” Ron pointed out.

“I’m taking that next year,” Lily said nervously.

Ron snorted. “You’re taking ancient runes? Blimey, Bill said the homework from that alone nearly killed him.”

“Flitwick wants me to take it,” Lily said. She was starting to feel defiant again. “We’ll just go for today, and you two don’t have to join if you don’t want to.”

To emphasize her point, she turned back up the stairs, heading back for the fourth floor where the club met. They made it down to the second, and her legs were straining in protest, but she was now filled with determination. Ron didn’t argue, and he followed behind with his hands in his pockets while Neville walked by her side.

“What does Flitwick want you to take that for?” Ron asked. “He doesn’t even teach the subject.”

“He wants me to take a course on spell development in sixth year,” Lily said sheepishly. “But I have to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes if I want to.”

Ron whistled. “Good luck with that, then. Those are the hardest two.”

“What are you taking?” Lily asked. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but it would do good to hear it anyway.

“Whatever’s easiest,” Ron said with a shrug, proving Lily right.

“I’m taking Care of Magical Creatures for one,” Neville said.

“I was going to take that one, too,” Lily said happily.

“ _Three_ electives?” Ron said incredulously. “You know we only need two, right?”

“I wanted to take the extra,” Lily said. “It sounds fun.”

“You’re starting to sound like Percy,” Ron said. “He took them all. Got 12 OWLs, just like Bill. Mum never shuts up about it.”

“You could too, you know,’ Lily said. “You could do it if you tried.”

Ron snorted, but Lily could see his ears when she turned back to look at him. She probably hit a sensitive spot, although she didn’t mean to. She didn’t let herself feel bad, though; she was still upset about the art thing.

She turned off at the fourth floor, waving at Circe as she passed her portrait. It was better to stay on the woman’s good side, just in case the secret passage wasn’t a girl thing, but a friendly thing. She’d try to stop by for a chat on the way out, even if Ron would surely complain about it. There were a few students milling about in the hallway, chatting idly and trying to pass time. Most were Ravenclaw; they were closer to that dorm than any other.

“Now,” Lily said once they stopped in front of the proper classroom. “Who wants to join the club with me?”

The door was open to the usually unused classroom, and Lily could see a few students already inside chatting with others. Some seemed to already be working on something, even before the official start time. She also happened to notice that every Ravenclaw prefect was in attendance, Penelope Clearwater included. She started to raise her hand to wave, but the blonde girl wasn’t looking anywhere near her direction.

“I’ll go for now,” Ron decided with a shrug. “Maybe it’ll be fun. What do they even do here?”

“That’s the spirit, Ron,” Lily said cheerily. She chose to ignore the question; she thought he wouldn’t like the answer.

“I’ll come too,” Neville said nervously. Lily had a feeling that he, at the very least, would _not_ become a regular member, even if Ron did, by some miracle, want to join.

Lily took the first step in, then gave out a gasp in surprise as she froze in her tracks. There were two first years sitting in the far corner, one of which she definitely recognized.

“Ginny?” Lily asked as she approached, utterly perplexed, “What are you doing here?”

“Hi, Lily,” Ginny said, seeming embarrassed. “I just came with a friend. She didn’t want to join a club by herself.” Ginny motioned to the girl sitting to her side as her face turned the same shade as her hair. Clearly, she was hoping not to run into anybody she knew.

The small, blonde first year didn’t look up from the magazine she was reading with her pale silvery eyes. Lily glanced at the cover. It had a large, bold title on it labelled as _The Quibbler_ , as well as a drawing of what Lily could only describe as a large moose with spider legs. She certainly hoped they wouldn’t be learning about _that_ creature next year.

“You’re friends with a Ravenclaw?” Ron asked incredulously as he sat down at a nearby desk. Lily glanced over at the blue trimmed robes, comparing them to Ginny’s red. She filed away a question to ask later, just in case it was stupid. She’d try to ask it when Ron wasn’t around.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Ginny said with a sniff. Lily wondered if she wasn’t actually embarrassed. Maybe she just didn’t want her brother here. Lily decided to sit next to Ginny, that way nobody else could. She seemed far more comfortable that way.

“Hello,” Lily said, leaning over to offer a handshake to the Ravenclaw girl. “I’m Lily. Lily Potter.”

“Luna Lovegood,” the girl said in a dreamy tone. She didn’t look up from the magazine, although she did still shake Lily’s hand. Her hand was much smaller than Lily’s was, but it was quite soft. Lily appreciated that she didn’t gawk, let alone react to the name. She quickly added Luna to the list of people she liked.

“How are you today?” Lily asked nervously. As to _why_ she was nervous she had absolutely no clue. It was just a sudden feeling that come up on her. Luna finally glanced up, tilting her head slightly in confusion, as if she noticed how Lily was feeling. Lily thought her eyes were pretty when they actually focused on something. They had a sort of calming effect about them.

“I’m doing well,” Luna said at last, looking back down at her reading material. “Although I’ve heard that you haven’t been.”

Lily frowned, starting to feel nervous again. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just something the older students have been saying,” Luna said, flipping a page. “They said you aren’t well.”

“Who’s been talking about me?” Lily said hotly. “I haven’t done a _thing_.”

“I don’t remember the specifics,” Luna said airily. Lily had a feeling she’d be cursing Malfoy again later tonight.

“What are you all doing here?” Ginny asked, trying to change the subject. Lily wasn’t sure if she wanted that; she still wanted to be mad.

“Lily wanted to join the club,” Ron said in a mocking tone.

“And I suppose you didn’t have anything better to do?” Ginny asked in a similar tone.

“Course not, we’re here, aren’t we?’ Ron answered.

“I thought it sounded fun,” Lily mumbled. She tucked her legs underneath her, trying to get warm again. It was absolutely _freezing_ in this room. They were sitting near a window, and Lily could have sworn she could feel the wind blowing through it, even if not so much as a single lock of hair was moving. She could see one of the Ravenclaw prefects look over disapprovingly, but he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t against any of the school rules to sit like this. Lily knew; she checked, just in case McGonagall ever tried to say something. Her classes were always cold.

“I thought so, too,” Luna said, humming as she closed her magazine and tucked it back into her robe. Apparently, she was now interested enough in the conversation to give it her full attention. “I thought it’d be quite useful in studying druidic mythology. Did you know they left runes all over the world, leaving instructions on how to build their ancient technology?”

“The druids?” Lily asked for confirmation. “I thought they were just a bunch of pagans.” That was what she learned in Muggle school, anyway. She never gave them a second thought once she learned magic was real.

“They never even existed,” Ron said, shaking his head. “They were a myth wizards invented to get the Muggles off their backs.”

“No, they most definitely existed,” Luna said, shaking her own head. “You can read all about them in this month’s Quibbler. Daddy published an article written by Melissa Gorghawk, she’s spent years researching them.”

“Gorghawk?” Lily asked, feeling even more confused. That wasn’t a name she’d ever heard before, although she supposed it wasn’t anymore strange than a lot of wizard names.

“Yes, she’s regularly featured,” Luna said, dreamy tone sounding just a tad more excited. “She’ll be in next month’s, too, although daddy wouldn’t say what she wrote about. He wanted it to be a surprise.”

“So your dad runs the magazine, then?” Lily asked.

“Ours says _The Quibbler_ only runs nonsense,” Ron said. Luna shot him a glare, or at least what Lily interpreted as one. Her facial expressions didn’t seem to ever change much. That one definitely seemed angrier, though. Lily shot him a better one, just to shut him up.

“ _The Quibbler_ only publishes the truth that other sources are afraid of,” Luna said matter-of-factly. Ron sniggered, Neville looked nervous, and Ginny looked mad. Lily just felt confused.

“Why are you being so mean?” she asked Ron. The ginger boy looked taken aback at that, as if he never expected to be called out.

“I’m not-“

“You’ve been mean all day,” Lily interrupted. “Knock it off, Ron.”

“ _Thank_ you, Lily,” Ginny said. “I would have been a bit more rude about it, though. You didn’t even call him a prat.”

“Prat,” Lily added with a nod.

“There you go,” Ginny said with a smile.

Ron grumbled something mutinously as he turned to face the front of the room, leaning forward on the desk he was siting at. Neville smiled sheepishly at Lily, then joined his friend, probably attempting to smooth things over. Neville only really had the two friends, and he couldn’t stand when they were arguing. Lily couldn’t stand it either, but for entirely different reasons. She turned to focus back on her own conversation with the two girls, noting that Luna was giving her that strange look again, as if searching Lily’s soul for some sign.

“What?” Lily asked nervously.

“Thank you,” Luna said with a nod. It seemed she found whatever she was looking for.

“You’re welcome,” Lily said. “Say, do you two mind if I ask a question?”

“You just did,” Luna said.

“Go ahead, Lily,” Ginny said.

“Where did you two get your robes?” Lily asked in a whisper, gesturing towards the different colors they were wearing.

“Pardon?” Ginny asked with a furrowed brow.

“I think the hat changed them,” Luna said, holding out her arms so everybody could get a better look at them. “They were just plain black, before, but as soon as I was sorted into Ravenclaw, they turned blue.”

“Oh, that,” Ginny said. “Did you not notice, Lily? You were sorted a year before us.”

“I was too nervous to pay any attention,” Lily admitted. “Did the robes you had packed in your trunks change, too?”

“They must have, or I’d be out of clothes by now,” Ginny said.

“I’m still running out of clothes,” Luna said sadly. “My last sock went missing yesterday.“ She pulled up her robe to prove her point, showing her bare ankle sticking from her shoe.

“That can’t be comfortable,” Lily said. “Do you want some of mine? I’ve got too many, we bought a full replacement set over the summer in case my feet grew some more, but they haven’t moved an inch.”

Luna shook her head happily. “No, I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually. I just hope they do before it starts snowing. Thank you for offering though! You’re very kind!”

“Say, Lily,” Ginny said as she leaned forward. “You asked one, now we get one, right?”

“Err- sure, Gin,” Lily agreed. She didn’t mind answering a question, it was just the contents of the question she feared, especially when it was presented that way.

“Do you think the Chamber of Secrets is real?” Ginny asked. Lily almost felt relived for a moment, then her brain processed the question, and she felt her body tense up in response as her brain flashed back to the petrified frame of Mrs. Norris hanging from the sconce, blood writing gleaming on the wall.

“Father thinks so,” Luna answered instead. “I wrote him about it the day after. He’s planning on running a full edition on it in a few weeks, once he finds an expert on it. He’s hoping none of the other papers will pick up on it first. But that’s all a secret, so don’t go telling!” Luna leaned forward on that last part, pressing a finger to her mouth in a shushing motion.

“What do you think, Lily?” Ginny asked again. “Percy reckons it can’t be, but if it isn’t, who would do that to Mrs. Norris?”

“I don’t know,” Lily said too quickly, “How would I know?”

Ginny narrowed her eyes, and Lily quickly looked away, wishing she could appear less suspicious since she actually _didn’t_ know a single thing.

“Sorry Ginny,” she said, “I- I just don’t like to think about it, is all, and- and people keep bringing it up.”

“Right,” Ginny said with a nod. “Sorry, Lily, I forgot you have a cat.”

“Can I meet him?” Luna said sweetly. “Mrs. Norris was sweet to me, but now she’s not around.”

“Mrs. Norris was _sweet_ to you?” Ginny said.

“Sorry, Luna, I forgot him at home,” Lily said. “Ginny and I just got out of the hospital right before the train left, and he got left behind in our rush.”

“I understand,” Luna said thoughtfully. “You’ll have to let me meet him sometime, though. Maybe I’ll come over during the Holidays.”

“She lives nearby,” Ginny explained to a dumbfounded Lily. “We used to play together all the time when we were little.”

“But then Ginny broke her leg climbing a tree and couldn’t come anymore,” Luna said sadly.

“Mum wouldn’t let me,” Ginny said angrily. “Thought Luna pushed me and I was just covering for her.”

“I’ll bring him to your place,” Lily offered. “He’ll like that, he doesn’t like being cooped up inside so much. That’s why we left him, actually, he was out in the garden playing with the gnomes.”

“You have gnomes?” Luna said with her face beaming in excitement. “Gnome spit is said to have powerful magical properties. Can you bring one of those for me, too?”

“Err-“ Lily stammered.

“Sure, Luna,” Ginny agreed. “Mum’ll be happy to see them gone, you can have the whole lot.”

“Well, now, I do believe it’s time to start,” the Ravenclaw prefect from earlier called from the front of the room. Everybody snapped to attention, conversations ending abruptly. Lily turned to attention as well, although her mind was still wondering about how the gnomes could _possibly_ be helpful in any way. She just thought they were ugly and mean.

“Where’s Professor Babbling?” a fourth year Ravenclaw asked.

“She won’t be joining us,” the Head Boy explained. “Magical Spell Theory and Research meets on Saturdays this year.”

Lily groaned, wondering what she was getting herself into. Ron looked back with a sly grin, and she made a rude gesture in his direction. She realized afterwards that she was lucky none of the multiple authority figures in the room didn’t happen to notice. At least Ron was back in good spirits now if he was making fun of her again.

“For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ignatius Pebblebrook,” the prefect said, smiling as he introduced himself. He had short, brown hair, and glasses that rested on his rather small nose. They seemed to be constantly at risk of falling off, as he pushed them back up every few seconds. Lily thought it looked absolutely ridiculous, but it was also oddly charming.

“Who doesn’t know their Head Boy?” the same fourth year said. There were quite a few laughs and chuckles from around the room. Lily joined in nervously, trying desperately to ignore her own embarrassment. She did _not_ notice, nor could she tell you who the Head Boy or Girl were from the previous year. At least Ginny looked equally embarrassed about it. Only upon looking very closely did Lily notice that his badge was different from the normal Prefect’s badges.

“Quiet down, quiet down,” Ignatius said. “I see we have a few first years and second years joining us today. You’re all more than welcome to stay, and even officially join the club if you wish, although I admit you probably won’t be of help until next year. Still, though, good on you all for showing some initiative! If you do stick around, you’ll do much better when you start the class in the future.”

Lily waved nervously as the other students turned to look at them. At least Penelope seemed excited to see her there; she finally got that smile and wave she was digging for earlier.

“Of course, you’re more than welcome to join even if you _don’t_ intend on taking Ancient Runes. Horace here didn’t, and he’s been an immense help!”

Lily couldn’t help but feel that was a poor choice of words; the sixth-year boy Ignatius motioned towards didn’t seem happy about it, either. He was fat, and his brown hair clung to his head. Nobody else seemed to notice it, though, except for Ron, who was doing his best to hide a smile.

The rest of the meeting went about as well as Lily could have expected, since she didn’t know a single thing about Ancient Runes or how to read them. Ignatius spent most of his time helping the first and second years figure everything out. Lily certainly appreciated it; she’d have been rather lost without his help.

“I hope to teach the subject someday,” he explained as they were wrapping up for the day. “Professor Babbling has already recommended me for the job, but she doesn’t plan on retiring for another 5 years. Plenty of time for me to get some experience in the field, of course. Hogwarts tends to require at least ten, but Dumbledore said he’d consider me if I earned an O on my NEWTs.”

“What’ll you do before then?” Lily asked, unable to contain the question. She could see Ron tapping his foot impatiently near the door, with Neville, Ginny, and Luna standing nearby. She waved them on, just in case she had more questions. He waved back, then backed out of the room.

“I’ve been offered an entry position at Gringotts,” Ignatius said, puffing out his chest a little. “I’ll be an apprentice ward-breaker.”

“My brother Bill does that,” Ginny piped up. Lily jumped at the sound of her voice; her and Luna came forward, standing nearby where they could hear the conversation.

“I remember Bill,” Ignatius said fondly. “He was Head Boy in my fourth year. Joined the club the same year, matter of fact. He didn’t lead it like I do, but he was there as well.”

“I know all that,” Ginny said. “He was my brother, why wouldn’t I?”

“Right,” Ignatius said, seeming a bit embarrassed. He scratched at his sideburns, which skewed his glasses slightly. “Well, anyway, then, err- Do any of you plan to come to the next meeting? We’d love to have some fresh blood, as it were.”

“I do,” Luna said happily as she pulled her magazine back out of her robes. Ignatius looked like he was torn about her involvement, but he settled on a friendly smile in the end.

“I will, too,” Lily piped up. Ignatius seemed far more excited about that, likely due to the prestige of having The Girl Who Lived join your club. She couldn’t say she was surprised, although she was certainly a little disappointed.

“I might,” Ginny said, tone betraying the fact that she definitely wouldn’t. She had the worst time of them all, and swore loudly that she wouldn’t be taking the class in her third year. Lily was briefly disappointed that she wouldn’t have at least one friend in the class with her, only to be more disappointed that Ginny was a first year and would _never_ have been in the first place. She wondered if she could, perhaps, convince Neville to take it.

“Splendid!” Ignatius said with his hands clapped together. “I shall see you both the next weekend, then?”

“As long as practice doesn’t run too long,” Lily said. Wood always tried to drag these things out, even long after his subordinates were tired and ready to wrap up.

“Of course, Quidditch comes first!” Ignatius said. He pushed his glasses up again, and Lily had to hold back her question. Surely there was some sort of spell that could keep them in place, with all the other specific charms that were around.

“I’ll see you Thursday, Lily,” Penelope called from near the door. Lily gave her a wave, then noticed the confused look on all the people currently surrounding her.

“She’s tutoring me,” Lily explained. “Well, actually, _Flitwick_ is tutoring me, but he asked her to help me practice most weeks.”

“Interesting,” Ignatius noted. “Not very often he takes an interest in a student outside of Ravenclaw. Your spellwork must be impressive. If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with the Headmaster soon. We have to discuss the state of Hagrid’s pumpkins. Our groundskeeper is worried they might not be ready in time.”

Ignatius bowed to the three girls, something Lily thought even more odd and embarrassing, and then swept out of the room. Ginny apparently agreed, as she was trying to hold back a smile when Lily turned to look at her.

“I like him,” Luna said airily. “He’s always been very nice in the common room.”

“Yeah, he, err-“ Lily started.

“He seemed _delightful_ ,” Ginny finished with a giggle.


	16. Relieving Tensions

_Dear Lily,_

_We got your monthly report for last month. Sorry it took so long to get to you, we had our hands full dealing with Fred and George. They got six detentions a piece just in the first month, and they lost a combined total of 20 points. 20 points!_

_You’ve been doing absolutely wonderful, Lily, and we’re quite proud of you. Not a single detention so far this year, and you’re up nearly 30 points! If you keep that up, I’m sure you’ll be bringing home the House Cup. Ron told us you were disappointed that you only got second last year._

_We were sorry to hear about how Quidditch practice is going. Next time, just tell Ron you’ll write home if he won’t trade brooms back with you. That should get him to behave._

“Your mum’s onto you, Ron,” Lily said between bites of toast.

“What’d I do this time?”

_We know you were worried about Arthur’s inquiry, dear, and we just wanted you to know that everything is absolutely fine. He even got a small raise! He’s got a friend in the Department of Accidental Magic, and they told him they were impressed that Ginny could pull off such advanced magic before even starting at Hogwarts. Arthur reckons they must have put in a good word for him._

_He asked that you actually teach her the spell before you lot come home, so that she can prove it should they ever come around to check. I ask that you ignore that request, and just focus on your own studies instead. We don’t need another Weasley running around the castle causing trouble at night. We already get enough of that from Fred and George._

“What do you think, Ron?” Lily asked sweetly.

“Hmm?”

“Your dad wants me to teach Ginny that charm that blinded us, but your mum thinks it’s a terrible idea.”

Ron thought for a moment as he chewed his mouthful of food. “Probably shouldn’t, Ginny will end up teaching to Fred and George, and who _knows_ what they’ll do with it. Could be a laugh, though, if you want to risk it.”

_You haven’t written us yet about how your last Transfiguration test went. We’re quite interested to know if you’ve managed to keep up. Do write back soon._

“I thought you said you were going to tell them about my Transfiguration test,” Lily said. They got into a fight over how Ron’s rat chewed a hole in her bag. Ron refused to acknowledge it, while Lily was really just confused on how the rat got in there in the first place. Regardless, though, Ron threatened to write home about it after Lily threatened to go to Percy. They didn’t talk for a few days after that one, but only because their workload suddenly got much heavier. Neither of them was _that_ petty.

“I was joking, I’m not a nark. You probably should tell them, though, you don’t want McGonagall doing it if you fail the next one, too. Mum’ll send a Howler if you get in trouble for it.”

“Is that what yours was about last week?” Lily asked. She was more worried about McGonagall telling Flitwick, to be honest, but she seemed to be avoiding that for now. She’d have to study more, though; she didn’t think McGonagall would let it slide _twice_.

“No, that was for skipping History of Magic. Percy found out. We probably shouldn’t skip it anymore.”

“I _told_ you he was onto us, Ron,” Lily grumbled. She’d gone to the last few with Neville, while Ron insisted nothing bad would come of it. Now she only wished she’d been there to see the Howler; she needed to return a book to the library, and only got to witness the aftermath.

_We got a letter from a Hermione Granger the other day, which took us a bit by surprise. Couldn’t remember any of you mention her over the summer. She asked if you’d tried writing to her over the summer, and we told her you had. Hope we didn’t get you into any trouble!_

_We hope to hear back from you soon!_

_With love,_

_Molly Weasley_

“Blimey, she writes you more than she does the rest of us, doesn’t she?” Ron said. He was finally done eating, and was just waiting on Lily to finish up her own meal. She was taking her sweet time, of course, just like she enjoyed doing.

Lily chose not to answer the question, although she’d definitely noticed it as well. She enjoyed it, to be honest. She thought the actual Weasley children complained about their mum far too much.

“Where’s Neville?” Lily asked. She was just assuming the lad was taking his time getting up, like he always did, but he really should be down by now. They needed to get to class soon.

“Said he wasn’t feeling good and went to the Hospital Wing,” Ron answered. “He should be back by lunch, once Madame Pomfrey figures out what’s wrong.”

Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion, and Ron quickly looked down at his plate, forgetting that he’d already emptied it. He tried to pile more eggs onto it, but Lily knew he wouldn’t get very far into it.

“Ron?”

“Mm?” Ron said with his mouth full of as much food as he could cram into it. Clearly, he was hoping that would stop Lily from going any further.

“What day is it?”

Ron paused, taking a long time to swallow his food. “Thursday.”

“And what class do we have first?”

Ron pursed his lips. “Potions.”

“Why are you helping Neville skip Potions?” Lily asked, putting a sickly-sweet smile on her face.

Ron gulped. “He needed a break, Lily. You saw Tuesday. Snape had him shaking by the end of it.”

“What do you expect? He knocked their cauldron over.” It was quite the spectacle; the students had to stand on their stools to avoid the corrosive potion. Lily still wasn’t sure how he managed it, and she wouldn’t have believed it possible if she hadn’t witnessed it with her own two eyes. She could still hear Malfoy’s raucous laughter.

“Yeah, well, Snape didn’t have to lay in on him like that, now did he?”

“No, he didn’t,” Lily admitted, “But he still shouldn’t be skipping. If he isn’t there, Malfoy will lay into Hermione more.”

“She’ll be fine,” Ron said, rolling his eyes. “It’s you we should be worried about.”

“Malfoy hasn’t done anything since I set his cloak on fire last week,” Lily said, rolling her own eyes. He’d had it coming, and since he got it put out pretty quickly Lily didn’t even feel bad about it. She was pretty sure not even Malfoy suspected her, this time; his sleeve _was_ awfully close to the burner. That was what made her think of it in the first place.

“That’s exactly why,” Ron said. “Lily, people are starting to talk about the Quidditch match now, aren’t you worried about them spreading nasty rumours again?”

“No,” Lily said with a shrug. “What’s the worst that could happen, Ron? Falling off my broom after a dark wizard curses me?”

“Fair enough,” Ron admitted. “You seem to be in a good humour about it, at the least. I thought you didn’t like talking about it, to be honest.”

“I don’t,” Lily said as a shudder went down her spine. “I don’t know where that came from.

“Still, though, maybe they all just need something else to talk about instead,” Ron suggested. “You know, just to keep them distracted?”

“What happened to the Chamber of Secrets?” Lily muttered. “They wouldn’t shut up about it just a couple of weeks ago.”

“Well, that’s old news, isn’t it?” Ron suggested. “Nothing else has happened since then.”

He was right, of course. Nobody really seemed to take the threat seriously anymore, since all that came from it was a single petrified feline that everybody already hated in the first place. At least Lavender was still being friendly, though, and if Mrs. Weasley’s letter was anything to go off of, Hermione might be coming around, too.

“What about Hagrid’s chickens?” Lily offered instead. She thought that was still pretty interesting, although she had to admit to a bias.

“Lily, that was _before_ the attack,” Ron said snidely. That put her into a bad mood, since she was pretty sure Ron was making fun of her.

Lily was still in a foul mood while she was waiting for Potions to begin. Malfoy kept leaning towards the table behind them, where some of the Slytherins were sitting, and they kept sniggering about something. She had no idea what they were laughing about, since Malfoy chose just this once not to share it, but she was sure it must be about her, based on the way they all kept looking at her.

Snape swept into the room after slamming the door loudly behind him. The students all snapped to attention, all except for Lily. She continued leaning forward on her desk, resting her chin on her hand. She wasn’t really in the mood to try today. She was certain Malfoy was planning something, and she was also sure that whatever it was, it’d ruin whatever assignment Snape gave them. That seemed to be Malfoy’s trend, whereas Lily’s was just to embarrass the boy in some way.

Snape seemed to notice that Lily wasn’t feeling well. She saw his black eyes narrow in on her as he stood at the front of the class. His eyes trailed over to where Neville should be sitting, and she became more worried that he’d figured something out. Surely she wouldn’t be blame for Neville’s absence? She didn’t even know until Ron let it slip.

“I have decided,” Snape began, the silence becoming more pronounced as every student struggled to listen to his quiet tone, “That from here on out you shall decide your _own_ partners. Clearly, this experiment was a complete disaster. The whole lot of you have given me nothing but utterly embarrassing results. Perhaps, by some miracle, you all may manage to scrape together enough talent amongst yourselves to produce _something_ that could even remotely be called a potion.”

Lily perked up along with the rest of the class. She glanced back towards Ron, who looked absolutely bewildered. At least Malfoy wasn’t laughing anymore; in fact, he looked upset more than anything else. Clearly this sudden decision ruined whatever the boy had been planning.

“I shall give you two minutes to rearrange yourselves,” Snape announced over the murmuring of his students. “Any longer than that, and you shall receive a detention. If you cannot find a partner in that timeframe, you will be stuck with Longbottom, should he ever deem to return to my classroom.”

Lily hopped up from her seat, snatching her bag off of the floor as she did so. She wasted no time at all, snatching Pansy Parkinson’s old seat at the back of the room right after she vacated it. Ron looked pleased with this turn of events, certainly. She could have sworn that she heard somebody call out her name as she whisked her away across the room, but she paid no attention to it.

“Why do you think he changed his mind?” Lily whispered as the rest of the class arranged themselves suitably.

“Who knows?” Ron said. “Maybe he got tired of dealing with the Slytherins complaining?”

Lily looked back up at the front of the class, noticing Snape watching the two of them. He quickly looked away after Lily locked eyes with him, and began writing instructions on the chalkboard. Lily thought that a bit strange as well; normally he just used magic to write the instructions.

Malfoy was now sitting at the front with Pansy, while Crabbe and Goyle had taken the table behind them. Dean and Seamus were still sitting with each other, Lavender was now getting quite chummy with Parvati, and Hermione was still sitting by herself way up at the front. It seemed she’d be the one stuck with Neville, but that seemed the obvious choice, anyway. They still seemed to get along okay.

That was the best Potions class they’d had all year, and Lily really needed that boost to her confidence. She spent most of the class joking with Ron while she made their Potion for the day. She was even more satisfied with the result than usual, since Snape gave it his first ever nod of approval. Not even _Malfoy_ ever got that. Malfoy didn’t even bother turning in a potion today, since his batch got ruined (due to a stealthily cast Cooling Charm she sent from across the room).

“When did you learn that one?” Ron whispered as they left the class feeling very satisfied. Ron’s hair was still standing straight from the potency of her Hair-Raising Solution, but he didn’t seem to mind one bit. Lily was just thankful she kept hers tied up; she could feel it still trying to stand straight up, even with the restriction. She was pretty sure it was laying perfectly horizontal as it followed behind her.

“Last week,” Lily said. “I found it while trying to find a Warming Charm so we could keep sitting by the lake.”

“Well hurry up with that one, will you?” Ron asked. “It’s getting bloody cold out there.”

“It’s getting bloody cold _in_ here,” Lily said as she shivered from the freezing temperatures of the dungeons. She tried patting her hair back down, but it kept popping back up. Frankly, she was starting to think it looked more ridiculous this way, and she was considering just letting it back down (up).

“Hey, there’s Neville,” Ron said, pointing at their companion as they left the dungeons. It was always far warmer in the Entrance Hall. Lily chalked that up to being so near the kitchens. It was still too cold in here, though, and she was looking forward to sitting in front of the common room fire as soon as classes were over. Neville seemed confused and bemused at their current states, but he clearly chose not to comment on it as they approached.

“Feeling better, Neville?” Lily asked innocently. It was best to not let him know she knew he was skipping. She was willing to let it slide just this once, anyway, on account of how well their day was going.

“Loads,” he admitted. “I think I just needed that break from Potions.”

“Well you missed out on a good one, mate,” Ron said, clapping Neville on the back.

“I did?” Neville said in a shocked tone.

“You did,” Lily confirmed. “He let us choose our partners again. Said the experiment was clearly a failure.”

“Oh no,” Neville said, pulling at this hair, “I’m not stuck with a Slytherin, am I?”

“I think Hermione waited for you,” Lily said.

Their hair finally started settling down by the time Professor Lockhart began the next lesson. He kept smiling up at the class, eyes always locking onto Lily whenever he did so. It made her just as uncomfortable as it always did. She always felt like he was trying to figure out some way to capitalize on her own fame to enhance his own. That was an explanation she overheard from a much older Gryffindor student, of course, but it _did_ make a lot of sense.

“Well, class,” Lockhart said with a chuckle (the paintings of himself laughing alongside the real one), “It’ll be a practical lesson today. I’ll need groups of two, but take your time. And don’t worry about fighting over Miss Potter; she’ll be my assistant for today.”

Lily groaned at that; assisting Professor Lockhart once again was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. At the very least, though, they were _finally_ getting a practical lesson with a _real_ spell, even if she didn’t know what it was yet. She got up from her seat, dragging her feet on her way to the front of the classroom.

Lockhart threw his arm around Lily’s shoulder, pulling her in closer while he threw the class another smile. Lily pointedly stared down at her feet, refusing to look at any of the students, as she always did every single time they had this class. She felt less hated if she couldn’t see any of it.

“Now, today we’ll be practicing the Tongue-Tying Curse. You might recall that I used this spell to great effect against the hags in _Holidays with Hags_. You see, they can’t get off any of their curses if they can’t speak. Quite ingenious, really. Definitely one of my better moments.”

Lily seemed to recall that hags used mostly wordless magics, and could curse with a simple touch, but she didn’t say anything to contradict the expert in the room. What did she know, really? She just read books.

“Now, then,” Lockhart said, releasing Lily and striding across the room before turning around and presenting his wand. Lily did the same, already deciding on what she’d do. “Do you remember what the incantation is, Lily?”

“ _Mimblewimble,_ ” Lily said, waving her own wand at Lockhart to get it over with. Lockhart gave a quick look of surprise after a brief, bright flash emanated from the tip of Lily’s wand. He let his mouth fall open, and his tongue seemed swollen.

Lily knew that it was actually just tired up in a knot and not actually swollen. It appeared much thicker because of it, and it certainly made speech more difficult. It’d also relax in a few minutes, assuming nobody helped Lockhart with the counter-curse. Lily knew what it was, of course, but seeing as how Lockhart had forgotten to remind them all that there _was_ one, she was in no hurry to set him free.

“Exeltul jobe, Lillith,” Lockhart said, stumbling over his curled-up tongue. He shot the class another smile, and then gave a bow. Lily noted that quite a few female students seemed upset with her, and she looked down in shame. She always seemed to hear nasty rumours about herself after each Lockhart class, but they usually went away after the weekend.

“Know ickis yeth torn,” Lockhart said thickly, gesturing to the class with a wide swing of his arms. They seemed to be confused at the Professor’s meaning, with quite a few grumblings and mumblings spreading amongst the students.

“It’s your turn,” Lily mumbled for clarification. Lockhart pointed to her in confirmation.

“Fix pounts tor Giffinmor!” he said, holding up two fingers. Lily didn’t know how that could possibly sound like two, but she wasn’t going to ask for clarification.

Lily spent most of her time walking around the class, helping people with their enunciation and posture, as well as untying quite a few tongues. It was mostly just the untying, actually, since all the students seemed _very_ eager to cast curses at each other for the first time all year.

“The counter curse is _Oratorio_ ,” Lily explained to Lavender as she fixed up Parvati. “You can also use it to amplify your regular speech, if you want.”

“How’d you learn that?” Lavender asked sweetly, pretending to take interest in what Lily was saying. Lily knew she just felt bad still about her behavior, but it still made her feel weird. She almost preferred it when Lavender was trying to be mean.

“It’s the next paragraph in the book, Lav,” Parvati said, rolling her eyes. She was right, of course, but Lily was pretty sure Lavender had yet to open a single textbook. At the very least, she’d never seen it.

Lily raised an eyebrow. “Your nickname is Lav?”

“Yes, but only for Parvati,” Lavender said, rubbing her hands together to warm them (this room had too many windows to be comfortable, and they weren’t allowed to wear gloves during any class that wasn’t Herbology or Potions, since it was harder to keep a grip on your wand with them on). “You can use it too, Lily, I don’t mind if you do it.”

“Err-“ Lily stuttered, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment.

“I only go by Parvati,” Parvati interrupted, “Please don’t try to call me Parpar like Lavender does.”

“I would-“ Lily started.

“Oh, I only do that because I think your reaction is cute,” Lavender interrupted.

“There’s nothing cute about embarrassing people,” Parvati pouted.

“I go by Lily,” Lily threw in, unsure of what else to say.

Both girls gave her a strange look.

“We know,” they said together.

“Right,” Lily said, feeling her face grow red. “I think I’ll just move on, then. Neville looks like he needs help over there.” He _was_ looking pretty distressed. Ron seemed to be doubled over in laughter about something.

“Oh, Lockhart has him,” Lavender said, grabbing onto Lily’s arm before she could walk away. Lily looked over helplessly to where Ron was standing on standby near Neville and the professor, who was now attempting to help Neville with his struggles. She caught his eye, begging for assistance of her own. He gave her a shrug, unable, or perhaps unwilling, to help.

“Stay and talk with us.” Lavender batted her eyes at Lily. Lily didn’t know quite how to feel about that, either, but it seemed convincing.  
“I really shouldn’t-“ Lily hesitated.

“How have your sessions with Flitwick been going?” Parvati asked, pretending to wave her wand around so Lockhart wouldn’t come snooping.

“Err,” Lily stuttered, still trying to find a way out. “How did you-“

“Hermione told us!” Lavender interrupted cheerfully. “She heard us talking about-“

“You know,” Parvati interrupted. Lily didn’t, actually, but she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to know if the two girls were being weird about it.

“And she told us what you’d _actually_ been doing,” Lavender finished with a smile. She tossed her hair back over her shoulder; it was long, and Lily imagined the curls could be a pain even if she did quite like them.

“I’m not supposed to show anybody the spell he’s been teaching me,” Lily said in a whisper. “He’s afraid someone’ll get hurt if I try to show it off.”

Lavender rolled her eyes. “Since when have you listened to the professors? You got in trouble all the time last year.”

“Well that was before Hogwarts started writing home, wasn’t it?” Lily said in her defense. That, and she still couldn’t find who took the cloak. It was hard to look for, though, when she didn’t even want anybody knowing she had one in the first place. Her suspect list was small, but she found it hard to believe anybody she knew would take the thing. They knew how important it was to her. No, somebody must have seen her use it sometime prior, and they took it the first available opportunity. She’d find them eventually, she was certain of that.

“You have to show us the spell, at least,” Parvati said, crossing her arms. “We can help you practice if we know what you’re working on.”

“Yeah,” Lavender said, mimicking the motion, but with a pretty smile.

“Fine,” Lily whispered harshly. “But we’ll have to make it quick, I don’t want anybody seeing.”

“Oh, thank you Lily,” Lavender said, throwing Lily into a quick hug. That left Lily feeling flustered and feeling weird again, and she pulled her own wand back out of her robes in a daze.

“Go on, then,” Parvati said in a hurry.

“I-“ Lily said, voice cracking. She cleared her throat and then tried again after regaining her composure. “I need one of you to cast a spell at me first.”

“What spell?” Lavender asked, waving her wand around excitedly. That made Lily a little _more_ nervous; you weren’t supposed to wave a wand around haphazardly. That was what they spent the first week of first year on in pretty much all their classes; proper wand handling and form. Either Lavender didn’t pay attention to those lessons, either, or she was brazenly ignoring them.

“ _Mimblewimble_ will be fine,” Lily said, hoping she could get the timing right first try. They’d only successfully done _Expelliarmus_ and _Stupefy_ (a spell Penelope had initially been unwilling to try, but Lily had managed to convince her), but neither of these two knew either spell.

“Are you ready?” Lavender hummed, doing a little prance in the same place in her excitement.

Lily gulped and then took a deep breath. She forced herself to focus on Lavender’s wand instead of her dancing feet. She thought for a moment about how the Tongue-Tying Curse worked. It was just a flash, like _Expelliarmus,_ but brighter. Perhaps the timing was similar?

“Ready,” she answered, taking the stance she preferred, with her left foot resting in front of her right.

“ _Mimblewimble_ ,” Lavender cast.

“ _Reddimitto_ ,” Lily countered, flicking her wand upwards right as the light appeared on Lavender’s wand. Lily smiled, since she didn’t feel her own tongue curl up. It wasn’t very visually impressive, of course, but it still felt _really_ good to pull off.

“Did it work?” Parvati asked, biting at her nails.

“Ick dent fint sue,” Lavender replied. She let out a squeak as her hand flew to her mouth. That made Lily’s smile wider, although she was curious as to how Lavender never even _felt_ it happen. You’d think your tongue tying itself into a knot would be more noticeable.

“Oh!” Parvati said in surprise. “You turned it back on Lav!”

“I did,” Lily said proudly as she tucked her wand back into her robes.

“Hat wah amayon,” Lavender said, clapping her hands in amusement. That made Lily blush again, even if she did think the praise was well-deserved just this once.  
“I should get moving,” she said, trying to inch away before she could turn any more red. “I’m supposed to-“

“You’re staying,” Parvati said, grabbing onto Lily’s arm.

“But-“ Lily stammered.

“Peas,” Lavender said, grabbing onto the other arm.

Lily spent the rest of the class period with Lavender and Parvati, which she never would have predicted when the day began. She couldn’t decide whether or not she actually enjoyed the time. She tended to get flustered around the pair of them, even if for seemingly no reason. She felt like she had a really stupid smile plastered on her face the entirety of the time, and she kept noticing weird looks from Ron whenever she happened to look over at him.

The pair left ahead of Lily once class ended, since she still needed to gather her own things and help Lockhart clean-up for the next class. She was the only student ever expected to do so, of course, but Ron and Neville always helped out she could get out as quickly as possible. This time, she decided to take the risk, and slipped out before Lockhart could notice, abandoning her supposed duties and responsibilities. Ron and Neville followed soon after, once they noticed she was no longer in the room.

“Well, that was fun,” Ron said.

“Sheet foe yonsef,” Neville tried.

Lily rolled her eyes, then did the counter-curse so the lad could speak properly. _Oratorio_ was simple enough; you just touched the wand tip directly to the throat of the target and spoke the word.

“Thanks,” Neville muttered, massaging his jaw. “Lockhart couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop.”

“Yeah, thanks for the _help_ , Lily,” Ron said sarcastically.

“That might be my fault,” Lily admitted. “I put a bit too much power behind my curse. Its not supposed to last that long.”

“Not quite what I meant,” Ron said. “Why didn’t _you_ come help us?”

“I couldn’t get away from Lav and Parvati,” Lily said. “They wouldn’t let me go.”

“Lav?” Ron asked in a bemused tone. “Since when are you so friendly with Lavender?”

Lily tried not to meet the boy’s eyes. “She just missed Weasley, is all. I told you that before. We’re fine now.”

“Still, though,” Ron said, “You’d think you’d hold a grudge instead of getting all chummy.”

“I don’t hold grudges,” Lily said with a sniff. She heard Ron and Neville snigger behind her, but she paid it no mind.

“When do you have practice with Flitwick?” Neville asked.

“Speaking of which,” Ron interrupted before Lily could speak, “Don’t think I didn’t see what you did in there. How could you show Lavender and Parvati but not us?”

Lily cleared her throat in an attempt to buy herself time to think. “I dunno, I just did. I thought they’d let me go after so I could come talk to you two.”

“Well, now you owe us,” Ron said. Lily imagined he was crossing his arms, but she didn’t risk a glance to check. She could feel how red her cheeks were; she hated letting anybody down, but she also hated being pressured into doing things.

“I already told you my conditions,” Lily responded.

“Fine, then, have it your way,” Ron said. “I’ll go out with Neville this weekend while you’re at Club, and we’ll learn it together.”

“Learn what together?” Neville asked.

“I’ll show you later,” Ron answered. “You’ll love it, trust me.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Lily asked with a pout.

“Not a chance,” Ron said, completely ignoring her attempt.

“Oi, you two,” there came a shout from behind. Lily thought she recognized the voice. All three turned, ignoring the fact that the voice only asked for two.

“Wood says we’re having a practice tonight,” Angelina said as she approached. “I’ve only just heard myself.”

“Tonight?” Lily said, placing a hand over her mouth. “I can’t do tonight, I have-“

“I know,” Angelina cut her off, “Wood says he’ll let you leave early, but you’ll have to skip dinner.”

“I’m not skipping dinner,” Lily said. “If Wood wants to have a practice on an off-day, he’ll just have to accept that I won’t be there.”

“I told him the same,” Angelina said with a grunt, “But I’ll probably go anyway. Don’t worry about it, I’ll cover you.”

“Do I still have to go?” Ron asked sheepishly. Lily was pretty sure he only came to practices in the first place because she was there. She wondered briefly if she’d be able to find him hiding in an empty classroom somewhere should she find an opportunity to check the map.

“I said ‘you two,’ didn’t I?” Angelina said in a bossy tone. “We’ll need you there just in case Katie or Alicia doesn’t show up.”

If Katie wasn’t going, Lily definitely wasn’t, she decided. She missed one practice last month after Fred got her a detention. He fooled her into standing guard in a hallway, and then completely failed to warn her that she should run once the noises started happening, so she stood there, waiting for him to come back, up until McGonagall arrived to search for whoever lit off a firework in Lockhart’s office.

“I’ll see you at practice,” Angelina said as she walked away. She threw a wave over her shoulder, and the fourth year left them in the hallway.

Ron groaned. “Great, just great, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. How am I supposed to get our Transfiguration essay done, now?”

“I told you to get it done yesterday,” Lily said with a smile.

Ron went straight to practice after dinner, while Lily joined Penelope Clearwater in the Entrance Hall. Together, they climbed up the grand staircase, passing portrait after portrait and student after student. Penelope always seemed a bit awkward around Lily, but only up until they started practicing. She could be quite a chatterbox once she had something to work on.

“What do you want to work on today?” Penelope asked finally as they passed their halfway mark. “I think we’ve worked on stunners enough, I don’t want Flitwick finding out I taught you it. I’m supposed to be responsible as a prefect.”

“Can it reflect the Blasting Charm?” Lily asked. She’d been wondering for a long time now, but she didn’t think Flitwick would have answered the question. That was another spell she wasn’t supposed to know, of course, but she’d love an official reason to show it off.

“It can, but we won’t be trying it. There’s too much that could go wrong. It’s easy, though, you just have to flick upwards right as the flame hits your wand. Don’t mess it up or it’ll snap your wand.”

Lily chewed her own lip as she absorbed that information. She didn’t know if it’d ever be useful, but that made her think of another question, one she had failed to answer a few months ago.

“What happens if you use the Blasting Charm on an animal?”

“The air nearby explodes,” Penelope answered. “It doesn’t seem to work properly on sentient creatures. It still does a lot of harm, though, so don’t go trying it out.”

“Thank you,” Lily said. She started to hum as they turned the corner on the fourth floor on their way to the Ancient Runes clubroom. This was the best day she’d had in a _long_ time.


	17. The Night of Hallowe'en

October was quickly coming to a close, the school grounds almost entirely devoid of signs of life. Or, at least, that was what Lily assumed; she hadn’t gone outside in what felt like ages. She made Hagrid come inside for tea the last time he asked; they used an empty classroom up on the first floor. It was now far too cold to do anything outside, and she’d yet to find a charm that worked comfortably.

The best she could do was _Caliosus_ , which she found in an old library book called _Charms for the Winter_. It was _almost_ perfect; it left the target feeling very warm. Unfortunately, and unlike the Cooling Charm she’d already found, it didn’t actually change the temperature, it just made the user incapable of _feeling_ cold.

Thus, Lily found herself in the Hospital Wing on a Friday night, the day before Halloween, being treated for a nasty cough after spending way too long outside on a particularly cold day.

Ron and Neville originally joined her, but Madame Pomfrey sent them off soon after since they weren’t showing any symptoms. Lily was pretty sure she’d been developing this cold for a while now, but she didn’t expect it to worsen this quickly. Ron and Neville had to help her up the stairs once her fever started; she could barely stand up on her shaky legs. It took the ages to get all the way up the stairs since they kept running into helpful and friendly Gryffindors as well as a few Hufflepuffs that were getting out of classes.

“You’ll need to stay here for the night,” Madame Pomfrey said after forcing a cup of Pepperup Potion down Lily’s throat. “Have to make sure you get a good night’s sleep, and I don’t trust you to stay in bed if I let you go.”

“I’d stay,” Lily said thickly. Her throat was still very sore, but the potion at least cleared up her sinuses. Her head still felt foggy, although that could just be the steam pouring from her ears. She might have asked, but she didn’t think Madame Pomfrey would appreciate the question. She did know, at the very least, that she _definitely_ would not have left her nice, warm bed this night. She also understood why Madame Pomfrey was doubtful, and she couldn’t bring herself to blame the older woman.

“I highly doubt that,” Madame Pomfrey said, pouring another potion. “30 years at Hogwarts, and not a single student has stayed in bed when told to do so. Merlin, the _professors_ don’t follow that instruction, either. Everybody has too many things to do, better get to work instead of healing properly.”

“What’s that?” Lily said, sniffling while she pointed a shaky finger at the cup. Her nose was already running again, something that Madame Pomfrey clearly noticed if her frown was anything to go off of.

“Sleeping Draught,” Madame Pomfrey said, taking a sniff herself. “You’re lucky you came in when you did. You must have gotten a nasty head cold out there, if your nose is already running again so quickly.”

“Can I still go to Quidditch practice tomorrow?” Lily asked optimistically; she was hoping for an excuse to skip. Wood was driving them all rather mad, insisting on a longer than usual practice since all club activities were cancelled for the holiday.

“I’d certainly advise against it, although I can’t forbid it,” Pomfrey answered. “You’ll be cured by the time you wake up.”

That wouldn’t do her any good; practice always started at 8 sharp. She’d barely have time to run up to the common room and change into her Quidditch robes, depending on how long she slept for. She wondered if it was worth trying to sleep in, but she decided against it. Wood would just come and drag her out of the Hospital Wing if she tried it. The Sleeping Draught tasted like nothing, and Lily’s foggy brain couldn’t recall if that was supposed to be normal.

Lily woke up with a jolt of pain coursing through her forehead. She jerked upright, hand quickly covering her blazing scar. That only made it worse, and she leaned back into her pillow, trying to take a deep breath. She was covered in sweat, and she almost felt like she could throw up at any moment. She tried to speak out, but that only caused her chest to heave in a coughing fit.

_Kill, kill, hungry, so hungry, smell blood,_ she heard ringing in her head.

“Pomfrey,” she said in a croak. Her throat was extremely dry, her voice barely a whisper. She tried again, but no sound came out. There was water near her, sitting on the tabletop nearby. She couldn’t quite reach it, and she hurt too much to move. Her shaky fingers barely slid against the cool glass.

_Kill, not yet, must go, kill, soon, kill, must tell Master,_ the voice said, getting further away, heading below where Lily currently was.

“Help,” she managed to spit out. She could barely recognize her own voice. She tried to breath in, but found that she couldn’t. She didn’t know what was happening, her scar hadn’t hurt this much since-

_Don’t think about it_ , Lily thought to herself, closing her eyes tight to force it out of her head. She placed her hands over them, and the cool sensation of her fingertips felt nice on her blazing hot forehead.

And then just like that, the pain was gone. Lily took a deep breath in surprise. She felt a smile on her face as a feeling of immense relief washed over her body.

She grasped at the water now that she could move, and downed the entire thing. The cold water quickly cooled down the rest of her body, but she threw her blanket off anyway. The sweat was too much, and she desperately needed the air. She coughed again as the cup was emptied, her lungs rattling with each exhale. She wondered if she just dreamed the whole thing; maybe it was all just a vivid nightmare. She desperately _wanted_ to believe it wasn’t real.

Lily’s heart was still thumping quickly 10 minutes later. She didn’t think she could get back to sleep tonight, but she _did_ desperately need to pee. She threw her legs over the bed, gasping as her bare feet touched the cold stone below. She moved as quickly as she could to the bathroom, letting out a gasp with each step. Her chest still hurt, and each cough sent another jolt of pain through it.

Lily was laying back in bed soon after, wondering where Madame Pomfrey had gone. She was certain the nurse should have checked in on her by now, especially with all the noise she’d been making. She was finally starting to drift off again when she heard something else from outside the Hospital Wing.

There were noises in the hallway. Lily briefly glanced over, wondering what could possibly be going on this late at night. Madame Pomfrey threw the doors to the Hospital Wing open from the outside, which only served to confuse Lily more. The old woman was clearly still in her pajamas, and she looked like a nervous mess, which was absolutely _not_ something Lily ever expected to see from the usually calm witch.

“In here, first bed, set him down,” Pomfrey said as she frantically gestured to the nearest open bed.

Following closely behind, Filch and Lockhart entered the room, placing some large, immobile object onto the available mattress. Lily tried to squint at it, but it was too dark in the room to get a good view, even with the lantern they’d brought in with them. Filch looked tired and sweaty, while Lockhart looked like he’d just been woken up from a very deep sleep and somehow _still_ had the time to fix his hair.

Dumbledore swept in soon after, followed almost immediately after by McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape, all dressed in their own pajamas and each looking equally nervous. Dumbledore, of course, was the one exception; he gave off an aura of calm, even while his staff was clearly upset.

“What happened, Albus?” Madame Pomfrey asked as she placed a hand on whatever it was in the bed.

“Found him on the sixth floor, carrying a bundle of grapes wrapped in a handkerchief,” Filch said in his harsh voice. “Frozen stiff, just like Mrs. Norris.”

“Should we be talking about this in here?” McGonagall asked, glancing down at Lily’s side of the room. Lily quickly shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep. This was _clearly_ something she wasn’t supposed to be witnessing, and she could picture McGonagall assigning her a punishment for eavesdropping, even when it was physically impossible to _not_ hear their conversation.

“Potter will be out until the morning, so long as we don’t touch her,” Madame Pomfrey said. “The Sleeping Draught I gave her will make certain of that, I promise you.”

Lily did her best not to fidget or smile. Her breathing was still rattling her ribcage with the urge to cough, but she held that in as best she could.

“The whole school will be finding out soon enough,” Lockhart said. “If only I had been there when it happened, I could have caught the culprit red-handed and countered their curse.”

“Yes, Lockhart, I’m sure we all would have loved to see it,” Snape said dryly. “Be that as it may, however, is it not possible that this child managed to capture a picture of his attacker?”

Lily opened her eyes briefly, just to make sure nobody was looking at her anymore. She could see Dumbledore walk forward. There was a sound, like a quiet shout, and then a noxious, black smoke rose into the air. She was far away, and she could _still_ smell the deadly fumes. It was enough to make her break into a silent series of coughs. She was _very_ thankful the attention of the professors was held elsewhere.

“What does it mean, Albus?” McGonagall asked, voice full of fear.

“It means, Minerva, that it is indeed as we feared,” Dumbledore said calmly. “The Chamber of Secrets had been opened once again.”

“We should not talk here, Headmaster,” Snape said, glancing down towards Lily on his own. She was almost certain he’d seen something, and she snapped her eyes closed again.

“Yes, Severus, you are quite right,” Dumbledore said. “Argus, cordon of the scene and comb it for evidence. Filius will assist you. Lockhart, head to the library and wake Madame Pince. Assist her with removing all tomes referring to the chamber before the students awake. Only those in the Restricted Section should remain, but it is best to be safe. Instruct her to keep tabs on any inquisitive minds. Severus, you shall come with me. Minerva, fetch the Prefects, and have them patrol the castle for out of bed students before you meet us in my office.”

“Should I tell them what happened, Headmaster?” McGonagall asked. Her voice sounded far more confident now that orders were given out.

“Not yet,” Dumbledore said calmly. “The students will all find out in due time, but we shall give them a brief reprieve for now. It is, after all, a holiday. I will make an announcement after the feast. Tell the Prefects, in the meantime, only that a student was caught of bed, and we need additional patrols around the castle.”

As they left, Madame Pomfrey went to the storeroom, allowing Lily a brief glance at the frozen form of Colin Creevey. His hands were stuck in the air, as if he was still trying to take that picture. His camera was laying at a bedside table, back laying open to reveal the film inside. She could still see a trail of smoke coming from it.

Lily didn’t get very long to look. Madame Pomfrey came back quickly, and she closed the curtains around the first year while she set to work.

Lily didn’t sleep another wink that night. She dressed and slipped out early in the morning, way before Pomfrey could even check on her, and went straight up to Gryffindor Tower. She wanted to check on Colin, first, but his curtains were drawn short, and Lily couldn’t move them no matter how hard she tried. She muttered a brief, silent apology to him before she left, wishing she’d been a bit nicer to the boy.

“Dungleworm,” Lily said once she reached the Fat Lady, snoring away in her portrait.

“Who-“ the Fat Lady started, waking up with a jolt. She narrowed her eyes sleepily, as if adjusting to the light filling the corridor.

“Dungleworm,” Lily repeated, feeling anxious. The castle around her was freezing cold, and she was worried the voice could come back at any moment, now that she knew for sure that she was _not_ imagining it. She could still hear it planning to kill in her mind, and that only made her feelings worse.

“Very well,” the portrait said, swinging open. Lily hurried into the warm common room as it swung closed behind her. She passed through the empty sitting area, fire crackling away from the chimney, climbing straight up the boy’s staircase.

She stopped outside the second year’s quarters, then pushed the door open carefully. She could see Ron snoring away in the furthest bed, while Neville was laying at the closest. She crept in quietly, tiptoeing over towards Neville. The chubby boy was laying on his back, with both his legs poking out from the covers.

“Neville,” she whispered as she shook him. Neville awoke with a start, just like the Fat Lady, and Lily clamped a hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t scream.

Neville’s eyes went wide, but he stopped struggling once he saw who was standing over him. Lily released her grip, letting the boy speak.

“What are you doing in here?” Neville whispered.

“Wake up Ron and meet me downstairs,” Lily replied before quickly turning around and heading out of the room. If she didn’t give him room to argue, he’d do as she said. He would have regardless, of course, but she didn’t want to explain twice, and especially not in a room where Seamus and Dean could wake up at any time.

Lily sat down on the couch nearest the fireplace, trying to warm up her frigid body while she waited for the others to arrive. They did so five minutes later, Neville looking tired but worried and Ron looking incredibly grumpy. He had Scabbers tucked in the pocket of his shirt; she could see the bulge where he was sleeping.

“You couldn’t wait a few hours?” Ron complained. “The sun isn’t even up yet, you could have-“

“There’s been another attack,” Lily interrupted as her head turned back to stare at the flames.

“A what?” Ron said sleepily.

“An attack,” Lily repeated. “Colin’s been petrified. He’s in the Hospital Wing right now.”

“Bloody hell,” Ron said as he sat down next to Lily, all fatigue gone from his voice. Neville took a seat next to him, face pale as he, too, stared into the fireplace.

“I heard the voice again, too,” Lily whispered. “I woke up with my scar throbbing, and I couldn’t move, I thought I was going to be sick I was in so much pain.”

“Why was it worse this time?” Neville asked.

“I dunno,” Lily said, biting her lip. “I think it was because it attacked a person this time instead of a cat.”

“What do you think it is?” Neville asked.

“No idea,” Lily said, “could it be a ghost of some sort?”

“We can ask Sir Nick,” Neville suggested.

Lily frowned. “It’ll have to be you or Ron, he hasn’t liked me since last year.”

“What did you do to him?” Neville asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Lily said quickly, “I just- I was talking with Hermione about ghosts and- and poltergeists, and I said the difference doesn’t matter they’re basically the same thing, and then- and Nick overheard and he told all the ghosts and they’ve all been ignoring me.” Lily took a deep breath once she finished.

“I’ll go ask while you two are at practice,” Neville offered.

“Thanks, Neville,” Lily said, feeling relieved. “Ron, are you feeling alright? You’ve been quiet over there.”

“It’s my fault,” Ron muttered, looking pale.

“What is?” Lily asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

“The attack,” Ron whispered.

Lily looked over nervously at Neville, who exchanged the same look of tension with her.

“Ron how could you-“ Neville began.

“I told him to go,” Ron interrupted. “I told Colin to go visit Lily. I thought it would be _funny_.”

There was a moment of silence as Neville and Lily digested this new information.

“Bloody hell,” Lily said at last, leaning back into the sofa. Neville did the same, although without speaking.

“I should go tell McGonagall,” Ron said, standing up.

“ Ron, no,” Lily said, grabbing him by the hand, “She’ll-“

“I know,” Ron interrupted, pulling his hand free, “But I’ll deserve it.”

“Ron, really,” Neville tried, but Ron wasn’t hearing it. He walked out of the common room before they could stop him, and they sat there on the couch alone, without him.

“What do we do now?” Lily asked.

“Go grab the map,” Neville said, “we can check to see if anybody else is out of bed, at least.”

Lily hopped up quickly, running up the stairs without a word. It was a good suggestion, even if it didn’t turn up anything. She was far less quiet about entering the girl’s dorm; she knew Lavender and Parvati wouldn’t wake up, and Hermione probably already was up.

To her surprise, she was wrong; all three girls were still sound asleep. Hermione appeared to have fallen asleep still in her robes, collapsed onto her bed with her shoes still on. It wasn’t the first time, but it did bring a smile to Lily’s face anyway. She thought it was cute, even if they’d all done it by now.

Lily threw her trunk open, snatched up the map, and then hurried back downstairs to where Neville was waiting.

“Got it,” she said, holding the parchment up. “Let’s get out of here, I don’t want anyone coming down.”

“Alright,” Neville said as he stood to follow “Where should we go?”

“Club room,” Lily said as she swept by him, tucking the map into her robes. “There shouldn’t be anybody there right now. Meeting was cancelled.”

“Should we check the map?” Neville asked as they pushed out into the seventh-floor hallway. Lily heard the Fat Lady call after them but she paid her no mind. She assumed it was something about so many people rudely shoving past her without so much as a “hello.”

“No,” Lily said, “I don’t want somebody coming around the corner right as I open it.”

“We could have opened it in _there_ ,” Neville said with a thumb pointing back towards the common room.

“Then somebody would have just come down the stairs.”

“Before the sun has come up on a Saturday?”

“What, Ron isn’t here so now you have to make fun of me?” Lily said. She didn’t feel like she needed this right now, but it was happening anyway.

“Well, it’s like he says, isn’t it? Somebody has to keep you from getting too full of yourself.”

Lily sniffed. “I think I liked you more when you didn’t talk to me.” At least she could feel mood brightening up a bit.

“I guess I’ve seen you cry too many times to still be scared of you,” Neville said with a smile. “Still scared of everyone else, though.”

“Club room is down here,” Lily said as they turned down on the fourth floor. They walked another thirty seconds, passing Lily’s favorite painting of a group of pretty ladies having a tea party on a lakeshore. They were all asleep right now, otherwise they would have certainly called out to her. That was for the better; she wasn’t in a chatting mood.

“It’s freezing in the morning,” Neville said, breathing into his hands to warm them.

“It’s freezing all the time,” Lily said, feeling how cold her thighs were. Skirts were far too airy for such a drafty castle. Even keeping her robes buttoned tightly didn’t do enough to keep the chill out.

Neville stood at the side, waiting for Lily to make the first move, since it was her club room they were entering.

“Ladies first,” he said politely.

Lily shook her head at the boy. Lily placed her hand on the knob, then pushed the door open, turning her head just in time to see quite a sight.

Percy and Penelope were both in the club room, which confused Lily at first, since there really shouldn’t have been anybody in here. Then she noticed Penelope was sitting on a desk, robe cast aside, shirt open, and Percy running a hand up her legs. Lily’s eyes locked onto Penelope’s bare chest, and both of the fifth-year prefects gave a shout of surprise as they noticed the intruder.

_What are they doing in here?_ Lily thought first.

_Oh!_ Lily thought immediately afterwards.

Lily yelped, then quickly shut the door. She ran for it, feeling her face flush, back down the hallway. Neville called after her, but she didn’t stop to wait for him. There really wasn’t any time.

Lily ran down the stairs, heading straight for the ground floor, Neville running after her. She decided it’d be better to have a chat somewhere outside, even if she did freeze to death from it. She didn’t think the prefects would look for her out there.

“Wait, Lily,” he called out once more.  
“No,” Lily responded, hopping down two steps at a time. She could feel her robe flapping against the back of her legs as she ran. She also noticed that she no longer felt cold and was, in fact, quite warm.

“Miss Potter,” McGonagall’s sharp voice called out as she attempted to pass by her open office door.

Lily continued on two steps, realized she shouldn’t ignore her head of house, then reversed course. Neville followed shortly behind, slowing to catch his breath.

“Yes, Professor?” Lily asked, face still flush from embarrassment. She noticed Ron sitting in a chair in front of her desk, looking dejected, and then the warmth left her body. She forgot all about Ron’s plight.

“Come in and have a seat,” she said, sweeping her hand towards an empty seat. “I just sent Mr. Pebblebrook to fetch you, but it seems there was no need.”

“I thought he was a Ravenclaw,” Lily said as she sat down. Neville lingered in the doorway, unsure of what he should do.  
“Your friends will be out soon, Mr. Longbottom,” McGonagall said reassuringly. “We will be only a moment.”

“Yes, Professor,” Neville stammered. The door closed on its own, allowing them a bit of privacy. Lily wondered if it was soundproof. She definitely would have tried listening in, even if Neville absolutely would _not_ have.

“Mr. Weasley tells me he is aware of an attack that has not yet been made public, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said sternly. “How, pray tell, do you think he learned of this?”

“I told him, Professor,” Lily admitted. She did feel slightly embarrassed about it, but she’d completely forgotten they’d wanted to keep it a secret for at least the day.

“So, you were awake after all, then?” McGonagall asked. Lily could see Ron shaking his head vigorously, but she really couldn’t bring herself to stop talking with all the feelings that were currently swirling around inside of her.

“Yes, Professor,” Lily admitted once more. She saw Ron shake his head harder, and she decided to take the hint afterwards. “I- I had a nightmare, and woke up with a headache.”

McGonagall frowned. “And what was this nightmare about?”

“I don’t know,” Lily answered. “I never remember my dreams, Professor, nightmare or not.”

“Interesting,” McGonagall said, not actually sounding interested. “And did you happen to hear anything after you were woken up?”

“Yes, Professor, I heard you-“

“Other than us, Miss Potter,” McGonagall interrupted. Ron shook his head even harder, but that only grabbed the professor’s attention, judging by the way McGonagall’s eyes snapped towards him. Ron at least had the presence of mind to immediately hide the movement.

Lily wasn’t sure what to say here, since Ron apparently thought mentioning the voice to be a terrible idea. Still, though, McGonagall seemed to know more than she was letting on. She wondered if McGonagall could hear the voice, too, but she decided to trust Ron on this particular instance.

“No, Professor,” Lily lied. “I didn’t even know anything was going on until Colin came into the Hospital Wing.”

McGonagall nodded. “I have given Mr. Weasley a detention and deducted 25 points for his stupid decision. I will deduct another two for your eavesdropping.”

“But-“ Lily argued.

“No arguments, Miss Potter,” McGonagall interrupted once more. “If the two of you will keep our secret for the day, I will consider reversing a few of them.”

“Why is it a secret, Professor?” Lily dared to ask. “If there’s something attacking us, we should know!” Mostly, though, she just wanted to know what in Merlin’s name she was _hearing_.

McGonagall looked sternly at Lily, then leaned back into her chair. She looked like she’d had a long, long night.

“I agree with you, Miss Potter,” McGonagall admitted, “But I’m afraid I must listen to the Headmaster’s orders at this particular moment. The students will be notified tonight, after the feast has concluded. In the meantime, prefects are on high alert to look for any signs of suspicious activity. They will be notified of the circumstances shortly, once the Headmaster settles on our course of action.”

At the mention of prefects, Lily could feel her face flush again, images of Penelope flashing before her eyes. She fidgeted slightly in her seat, an action that surely did not go unnoticed.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me, Miss Potter?” McGonagall asked.

“No, Professor,” Lily lied. She managed to stay completely still as she said it, maintaining eye contact. She didn’t know if that was _more_ suspicious, but she was still proud of herself for avoiding all of her tells.

“Then the two of you are dismissed,” McGonagall ordered. “I believe your practice starts in an hour. You should go grab your robes.”

“Yes, Professor,” Ron and Lily said together, standing up as a unit. Lily threw the door open, and Ron closed it behind them.

“How did it go?” Neville asked nervously. “Are you in trouble?”

“Ron’s got detention,” Lily said quickly. “And we lost 27 points.”

Neville let out a sigh of relief. “That puts us in third place, we can still catch up.”

“I deserved more,” Ron said glumly, hands tucked into his pockets.

“You couldn’t have known, Ron,” Lily said, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. The comfort gave the boy a small smile, but he didn’t look fully convinced.

“Mum’s gonna lose it,” Ron muttered, staring back at the ground.

“Ron, why did you keep shaking your head in there?” Lily asked.

“Didn’t want you mentioning the voice,” he answered. “Hearing things isn’t a good sign, Lily, _especially_ for a witch or wizard. Don’t tell _anyone_ , you could get into some serious trouble.”

“Really?” Lily asked, looking over to Neville for confirmation. The other boy nodded in response, and they continued their trek up to the seventh floor in silence for the moment. Ron lagged a bit behind the other two for the first time. Usually, he was fighting Lily for the leading position.

“Lily, what did you see in the club room?” Neville asked to break the silence. Lily blushed further as her mind raced for something to say.

“Club room?” Ron asked, confused and interested. “What did you go there for? Clubs are all cancelled today.”

“We were trying to find an empty room to check the map in,” Neville said.

“You could have just checked the map in the common room first,” Ron pointed out.

“That’s what I said.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” Lily said as they approached the fourth floor. Lily was _very_ thankful Percy and Penelope didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.

“What did you see, then?” Neville repeated.

“Nothing,” Lily said a little too quickly. She was sure her face must be a bright red; she could feel it burning.

“Well, that’s not obvious at all,” Ron said.

“I see you’re recovering quickly,” Lily said to change the subject.

“There’s nothing I can do to fix it now,” Ron grumbled, spirits falling again at the reminder. That made Lily feel a bit bad, but she didn’t say anything to try and comfort him. She didn’t want to make it worse.

“Should we check the map now?” Neville asked, trying to get them back on task.

Lily considered it for a moment, then dug the map out, tucking it into Neville’s robes for him. The boy looked confused, but he offered no resistance.

“Go check it,” Lily said. “Ron and I have practice. We’ll meet up with you after, you can give us your full report.”

“But-“ Neville stammered.

“Better go,” Ron interrupted, “I think I see Penelope up ahead.”

“Penelope?” Lily squeaked as Neville pulled away down a different hallway. Lily froze in place, locking eyes with the curly-haired prefect. Penelope turned a shade that Lily was quite sure matched her own, but she approached the second years anyway.

“Lily,” Penelope began with a voice crack. She cleared her throat and then tried again.

“Lily,” she said, eyes flickering briefly towards Ron, “I was wondering if-“

“I didn’t tell anybody,” Lily blurted out, eyes flickering briefly down to Penelope’s chest before shooting straight back up. Penelope’s tie was loose and crooked, she noticed, and hung limply against her dress shirt, which was, somehow, tucked a bit too tightly into her skirt. “Neville didn’t see and Ron wasn’t with us and I would never say anything in fact I’m not even sure I saw-“

“That’s good,” Penelope interrupted with another voice crack. She pulled her robe closed, likely to hide her shame. “But, err- I- I was just wondering if- well- so long as you don’t tell anyone, I suppose it’s fine.”

“What’s going on here?” Ron asked, utterly confused.

“Nothing,” both girls said at once. Lily chose to stare at the floor so that her face couldn’t give anything else away.

“I’ll see you Thursday, Lily,” Penelope said as she pushed past the two of them. She sounded like she never wanted to see Lily again, and she felt like she couldn’t blame her too much for that one. Lily did not turn to watch her go, and instead started up the staircases, doing her best to not look at Ron.

“What in Merlin’s name was that?” Ron asked curiously. Judging by the tone in his voice, Lily thought he must have completely forgotten about all his negative feelings.

“Nothing,” Lily said quickly again.

“That was clearly something,” Ron pointed out. “You both turned as red as my hair. Hell, red as _your_ hair.”

“She was- I- she was just wondering if I’d- if I’d shown anybody what we’ve been practicing, that’s all,” Lily said. She felt like that was the best save she’d be able to come up with right now.

“That- that makes no sense!” Ron stammered out. “Merlin’s staff, Lily, there’s clearly-“

“That was it, Ron,” Lily interrupted. “We’ve been working on stunners, and she wasn’t supposed to teach me, but then-“

“Stunners?” Ron interrupted, looking genuinely interested. “You’ve been practicing _stunners_?”

Lily paused mid word, mouth caught open in surprise. She didn’t expect that to work.

“Yes,” she said with confidence. It wasn’t even a lie, not really. Penelope was enthusiastic during practice, sure, but she’d been extremely reluctant to even consider it. It took Lily an hour to convince her.

“Bloody hell, Lily, that’s fifth year material,” Ron said, shaking his head.

Lily shook her own head. “It’s not hard at all, I can teach you. Flitwick said they just wait until fifth year so we don’t hurt each other.”

Ron smiled at the offer, and Lily wasn’t sure if she’d messed up by making it. “When do we start?”

“Later,” Lily said, relieved that she got away with it. “McGonagall wants to assign a project next week and Snape’s been hinting at a research paper.”

Ron groaned. “We could do it today, after practice.”

Lily shook her head as they rounded the corner on the seventh floor, passing by a swearing suit of armor. “I need some sleep before the feast. I was up all night.”

Ron furrowed his brow. “What were you up all night for?”

Lily opened her mouth to answer, but stopped herself. She didn’t want to throw Ron back into his foul mood now that he’d gotten out of it.

“Dungleworm,” she said instead.

“Very well,” the Fat Lady said, yawning and stretching as the portrait swung open. Lily was about to say more as they entered the common room, but she could hear yelling ahead.

“We _said_ she isn’t up here,” Lavender shouted, “So why don’t you just _leave us alone_? We’re trying to sleep!”

“Lily!” Percy shouted, face glowing red as he stared up at Lavender and Parvati standing sleepily at the balcony. “Get down here this instant!”

“Percy,” Ignatius said nervously, pushing his glasses back up his nose, “Perhaps we should-“

“What are you doing in here?” Lily interrupted, stopping in place at the entryway. “You’re Ravenclaw, you’re not supposed to be-“

“I’m Head Boy,” Ignatius cut her off, “Head Boy and Girl have access to _every_ common room, not just their own.”

“Lily, there you are,” Percy said, trying to grab her by the arm and pull her aside.

“Let go, Percy,” Lily said, shaking him off. “I haven’t told anyone and I won’t be telling anyone, I already ran into Penelope. Why are you shouting at everybody?”

Percy’s face turned a brighter shade, this time from embarrassment. “The Head Boy needed you immediately, and seeing as how we can’t go up the steps ourselves-“

“He’s been shouting for 10 minutes,” Lavender complained. Parvati was gone, Lily assuming she was already back in bed. “Tell them to sod off, Lily.” Lavender turned at that, heading back to her own.

“That’ll be five-“ Percy started, turning around to face her.

“Let her go,” Ignatius intruded, shaking his head. “It’s out fault. We’re lucky the whole house didn’t come down here.”

“I ran into McGonagall already, Ignatius,” Lily threw in, “She already told me everything she needed.”

“Then I’ll be off,” Ignatius said, wiping off his glasses with a cloth as he walked past. “I shall see you next Saturday.”

“I really do need to talk to you,” Percy said, trying to pull Lily off to the side again.

“Sod off, Percy,” Ron butt in, pulling at Lily’s other arm.

“Really, now, it’s very important,” Percy insisted.

Lily sighed. “It’s fine, Ron, I’ll be right back. Go ahead and change your robes, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“If you say so,” Ron relented. He let go of her arm, and Percy pulled her to a quiet corner of the common room. Other students were starting to mill about, having been rudely awakened by the prefect boy. Lily assumed he had done all the shouting himself, but Ignatius had likely felt obligated to apologize on both of their behalves.

“About what you saw,” Percy whispered once they were alone.

Lily blushed again, thinking about Penelope’s discarded robe. “I-“

“She was just changing her clothes, that’s all,” Percy cut her off. “We had to patrol the corridors, see, and Peeves pelted her with some dung bombs.”

“What were you doing, then?” Lily asked. “You seemed to be-“

“I was helping her get off some residue,” Percy said, offering a smile. He seemed embarrassed, and yet also completely sure that he’d be able to convince Lily.

“Right,” Lily said, not buying it one bit. “Don’t worry about it, Percy, really, I already told Penelope I wouldn’t-“

“There’s really nothing to mention at all, I’m afraid,” Percy said, “It was just-“

Lily was getting fed up now. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I told McGonagall about it, then?”

Percy stopped midsentence, face frozen in fright. “I- Pardon?”

Lily stood up. “I’m not going to tell anyone, Percy, just leave me alone.”

“I can do that,” Percy managed as Lily walked away from the conversation. She was relieved, to be honest. She didn’t think she could take much more of that discussion. She almost felt like it was worse for her than it was for them. Percy, at least, had been fully clothed, but she couldn’t get Penelope out of her mind. It was burned into her retinas. The _last_ thing she wanted to do was talk about it with anybody.

Lily met Ron down in the Entrance Hall as promised, carrying her Nimbus 2001 and wearing her bright red Quidditch robes. They ate a hurried breakfast together, then stomped off into the grounds, where it was beginning to rain.

“Just great,” Lily grumbled as the water soaked through her robes. She could already feel another chill coming on.

“Why’s Wood got us practicing on a holiday, anyway?” Ron grumbled in agreement. “Everybody else is inside, sitting around the fire and playing Exploding Snap or chess or- or whatever, but we have to be out here in the cold and the mud.”

“Could be worse,” Lily mumbled. “Could be Colin.”

“What was that?” Ron asked.

“Nothing,” Lily said. “Bad joke.”

They met the rest of the team on the field, and they all looked just as miserable as Lily felt. The rain wasn’t letting up at all, and by this point she’d completely forgotten what warmth even felt like.

“Alright, team,” Oliver said, all smiles, “Long practice today, so let’s get to it.”

“ _Long_ practice?” Fred groaned. “Oliver, come on, we have to-“

“We have to work on our team maneuvers and-“ Oliver started.

“Oliver,” Katie Bell interrupted ( _Bless her,_ Lily thought), “If you think for a _second_ that we’re spending all day out here-“

“Not all day,” Oliver threw in hastily, “Just until-“

“If you say Just until the feast,’ Oliver, I’m going to curse you,” Angelina tossed in.

Oliver looked put out. He ran a hand through his soaking wet, short hair, and he looked absolutely puzzled at the response from his mutinous crew. Lily sneezed as a shiver went down her body.

“Sorry, all, but I’ve booked the field for the whole day, nobody else wanted it,” he said.

“Wonder why?” George muttered, looking like he already had several fine ideas for how to get revenge on their captain.

“We only have a few short weeks until the first game,” Oliver pleaded, “And we need all the practice we can get, with the brooms the Slytherins have.”

“I’ll catch the snitch, Oliver,” Lily said in a thick voice, sniffing and shivering, “Can I go home now?”

Oliver shook his head. “Fraid not, Lily, you need more practice in the rain. We have no idea what the weather will be later in the year.”

Lily sneezed again, trying to rub her arms against her chest for warmth. It was much harder to do when they felt entirely like liquid. She wished Oliver had at least done his speed somewhere drier.

“She’s dying, Oliver,” Fred pointed out, officially making him Lily’s favorite Weasley of the day.

“She’ll make it a while longer,” Oliver replied, officially making him Lily’s least favorite Wood of the day.

Lily certainly didn’t _feel_ like she was going to make it, even hours later. She was shivering so violently that her broom couldn’t fly straight, and she felt a rumble in her lungs every time she breathed in. Her forehead would occasionally twitch in agony, but she wasn’t sure if that was her current circumstances or if her scar was trying to act up again.

She seemed to be getting the worst of it, which she didn’t think was very fair. Fred and George kept loudly complaining, but they were still able to laugh and make jokes at the expense of others. Ron, Katie, Angelina, and Alicia spent most of their time in silence, passing the Quaffle back and forth between each other. They were all playing badly today, their fingers too frozen and stiff to properly handle the ball.

But for some inane reason, Oliver absolutely refused to call it. He kept flying over, giving everybody pointers and trying to buoy spirits. Lily threatened to blast him if he came around her again, but failed to make good on the promise; her hands were far too shaky, and she was worried she’d accidentally hit somebody else.

The sun was setting now, and Lily was sure the feast was almost ready. She was also sure she wouldn’t be attending. Not because of the practice, of course, but her head was pounding now, and she was quite certain she was going to die before they left the Quidditch pitch. This would, unfortunately, be the _second_ Halloween feast she’d miss.

_Better luck next year,_ she thought to herself as the pounding in her head got worse.

“You alright, Lily?” Katie asked, pulling up nearby with her Comet. Lily tried to give her a smile, but she could barely raise her lips.

“No,” she admitted in a thick voice. She sputtered a bit, breaking into a chest-rattling cough.

“Oliver!” Katie shouted, waving over at their captain. He flew right over, putting a hand on Lily’s back as he came to a stop.

“You alright, Lily?” he asked.

“No,” Lily repeated, still coughing.

“Look at her, Oliver,” Katie said rudely. “We have to get her to the Hospital Wing, she can barely stay on her broom.”

“I can-“ Lily started, breaking into another series of coughs. She could feel herself start to slide, but Katie put another hand on her back, and she felt far more secure for it.

“Angelina!” Oliver called out. The dark-skinned girl flew over immediately, looking similarly worried.

“You al-“ she started.

“Take Lily up to the castle,” Oliver interrupted. “She’s had enough for today.”

“I think we all have, Oliver,” Angelina threw out.

“Yeah, Oliver, the feast is starting soon,” Katie whined.

Oliver glanced up at the dark sky, squinting to try and find the sun. Katie rolled her eyes at him, then threw Lily a reassuring smile. Lily tried to return it, but it was ruined by a rack of pain convulsing through her forehead. She nearly slipped off her broom again, but Angelina caught her.

“You two go on ahead,” Oliver relented, “We’ll all be in shortly. I’ll just give a quick pep talk first.”

“Right,” Angelina said, herding Lily and her broom slowly toward the ground. “Lucked out there, didn’t we? Almost had to spend another hour out here.”

Lily answered with another series of heaving coughs as they landed on the field. She could barely stand on her shaky legs, and Angelina had to support her with both arms.

“Merlin, the storm really did a number on you, didn’t it?”

Lily sniffed for confirmation, appreciative of the little bit of warmth the extra body was giving her. She was soon herded off the Quidditch pitch, and they were making their way towards the castle. Lily thought the view was absolutely miserable when the weather was this awful, even with the castle lit up to look impressive.

“I’ve been meaning to ask something, if you don’t mind,” Angelina said. Lily got the sense she didn’t want to spend the journey in silence, even though she would have quite liked it herself.

“Go ah-“ Lily started, interrupted by more coughing.

“What’s with the ponytail?” Angelina asked. “You wore your hair down last year, but you’ve had it up ever since the train.”

Lily didn’t even blush; she was too busy dying to feel any sort of embarrassment.

“I like it,” she threw out. “Easier to take care of, too.”

Angelina nodded. “That’s why Katie wears it, too.”

“That’s where I got the idea from,” Lily admitted. She let herself cough again before continuing. “I still don’t like people looking at the scar, though.”

“I barely ever notice it, if that helps any.”

“It does,” Lily said, holding more tightly onto Angelina as another twinge of pain went through her head.

“Blimey, that’s some fever,” Angelina said, placing a hand on Lily’s forehead. “Can practically see the steam coming off of you.”

Lily certainly didn’t _feel_ warm. Her cold, wet robes were still clinging to her, and it felt like she was completely submerged in ice. Angelina hurried their pace towards the castle, not resuming the conversation until they were inside and heading up the stairs. Lily could see the students gathering into the Great Hall for the upcoming feast, but she felt no need to join them. She hoped a Pepperup Potion would help with that, even if it didn’t do anything the previous day.

“How’d you get sick so quickly?” Angelina asked, staring longingly behind them at where most of the student body was gathered.

“I was sick yesterday, too,” Lily said with yet another sniff. She wished she had something to blow her nose on, but it probably wouldn’t help much.

“You should have said something,” Angelina suggested far too late, “Wood would have let you off easy. He let Katie skip a few sessions last year when she came down with a flu. Pomfrey couldn’t figure out how it kept coming back.”

“How did it?” Lily asked. They passed a few more students as they proceeded upwards, but the stream was quickly thinning out.

Angelina smiled. “She came to the sessions anyway. Kept making her sick. But, still, he _did_ offer.”

“I probably would have come, too,” Lily admitted. They were on the second floor, now, and Lily’s head was really starting to ache, and she noticed that it _definitely_ seemed to be centered behind her scar. She didn’t take that as a good sign, but she was in no shape to hurry their pace. Angelina was already breathing hard from the effort of lugging her sorry body up the stairs.

“Hello there,” a friendly voice announced as it passed through the wall. Lily almost lost her balance from being startled, but Angelina managed to catch her just in time.

“Hello, Nick,” Angelina returned with a grunt as she shifted Lily’s weight. “Can’t stay to talk right now, I need to get Lily up to the Hospital Wing.”

“Ah, but it’s _her_ I was coming to see,” Nick said, following along with them anyway. Angelina didn’t look too pleased about it, but she didn’t argue.

Lily coughed again, but turned to face the ghost.

“I thought you didn’t like me,” she said.

Nick looked aghast, the ruffle on his puffy shirt billowing as his head nearly lost its place on his neck.

“I like all the Gryffindors,” he said haughtily.

“But-“ Lily stammered, interrupted by another series of coughs. She had to lean on the railing for support, even with Angelina still clinging to her.

“If you’re worried about the Peeves comment from last year, you shouldn’t be,” Nick said reassuringly, “I forgot about it ages ago.”

Lily didn’t comment on that as Angelina continued pulling her along.

“What’s your question, Nick?” she said rudely as they got to the third floor. “We’re in a hurry here.”

Nick raised his nose as if he was offended. “I was simply looking to inquire if you knew where Miss Granger has gotten to.”

“How would I know?” Lily answered, raising a shaky foot to take the next step.

“I believe I remember the two of you being quite inseparable,” Nick continued. “She was attending my Deathday Feast, when-“

“Deathday Feast?” Angelina interrupted. “What’s that?”

“Like a birthday, but for our death,” Nick explained in a hurry, “But she was there, only-“  
“Why would you want to celebrate the day you died?” Angelina interrupted again. Lily was sure that was a rude question to ask, and she was extremely pleased that somebody else asked it before she could. Angelia was the only other option, of course; there were now no remaining students on the staircases. They were all downstairs for the feast.

Nick did look quite offended, shaking his ruffled collar in defiance, but he continued on as if the question had not been asked.

“Miss Granger attended, but she left before I could give my speech. She was the star, you see, as living beings almost never attend the celebrations. It made me look quite the fool, I admit, but some of my guests saw her leave the party looking completely miserable. I just wanted to make sure she was alright. I never wanted to offend her.”

“Did you check the tower?” Lily asked as they approached the fourth floor. Only one more to go. She stepped onto the landing, feet heading towards the last set of stairs.

“Of course I did,” Nick answered, “First place I checked. I also-“

Lily let out a shout, falling to her knees as her hand shot up towards her scar. She shut her eyes, trying to block out the pain.

“Lily?” Angelina asked, leaning down next to the second-year girl.

_Kill_ , Lily heard from below. _Master calls to us, Time to feed, Kill, Kill._

“We have to hurry,” Lily said, getting up onto her unsteady feet. Angelina looked worried, but she helped her up the stairs anyway. Nick followed behind, looking increasingly nervous.

“Come on, let’s get you to Pomfrey’s,” Angelina said nervously as she picked up the pace.

_Kill, Must kill, Hungry, Kill,_ the voice said, significantly louder than before.

“Do you hear that?” Lily asked gravely. Her vision was starting to get blurry, the pain in her head fogging over everything else. “It’s- It’s coming from below, I think.”

“Hear what?” Angelina responded. “Don’t worry, we’re almost-“

“I say, what is that noise?” Nick interrupted. Lily could hear something big moving up the stairs behind them.

_KILL, KILL, KILL._

“What-“ Angelina said.

Lily collapsed onto the ground. She could feel vomit coming up her esophagus, and she tried to force it down. Angelina leaned down, hovering protectively over Lily.

_KILL_ , she heard.


	18. A Frequent Customer

Lily opened her eyes to the familiar sight of pale, white walls, with streams of sunlight pouring through an array of windows facing the lake of Hogwarts. The pain in her scar was gone, her body was no longer wracked with the shivers, and her lungs didn’t shake with each breath. Her throat was still a bit sore, but she wasn’t sure if that was still the sickness, or if she just needed to drink some water. Her bedside table lacked a cup of the cool stuff, though, so Lily chose to stare up at the sterile ceiling, instead. She thought she could hear running water from somewhere nearby.

_Was it all a dream_? The Hospital Wing was almost entirely empty, aside from her. There were, however, three beds with the curtains drawn around them, when Lily could only remember the one from before. She didn’t take that as a good sign.

“Nick?” she called out in a raspy voice. She thought, for sure, that at least the _ghost_ would be fine. What could petrify a ghost?

“Angelina?” she called out after receiving no answer. She heard a brief rustling from behind one set of curtains. They quickly pulled apart as Pomfrey stormed out of them, snapping them back shut behind her with a wave of her wand. Just ever so briefly, Lily thought she saw some black mass floating over the mattress.

_Nick._

“Good, you’re up,” Pomfrey barked, whipping her wand once more into the air. A silvery creature shot from it, sailing through the ceiling as it ascended. Lily thought it looked a bit like a fish, albeit an extremely large one.

“What was-“ Lily started to ask. She shook her head to get herself back on track. She didn’t have the time to inquire about a new spell. “Is Angelina okay?”

“She’s fine, dear,” Madame Pomfrey said as she pressed a hand to Lily’s forehead. “Petrified like the rest of them, but otherwise fine.”  
“What happened to Nick?” she asked, pointing a shaky hand over to where the dark figure had been.

Madame Pomfrey frowned. “Petrified as well, I’m afraid. Now, no more questions, child, we have a bit more healing to do.”

Madame Pomfrey handed Lily a cool glass of water, and Lily downed it eagerly. It did a lot to soothe her aching throat., although it also hurt her empty stomach a bit. She was suddenly _very_ hungry.

She didn’t get the chance to ask for any food, as Madame Pomfrey was soon forcing a variety of Potions down her throat. She didn’t get any explanation as to what any of them _did_ , but she wasn’t sure the Healer would tell if she even did ask. It was hard to tell with Pomfrey. Sometimes she could be really friendly, but other times she was the grumpiest person Lily had ever met.

At the very least, the Potions didn’t leave Lily feeling hungry. She took that as a small blessing. It also did well to boost her confidence, now that she was feeling much better. She didn’t even realize how much her body had been aching until all the pains were gone.

“There, all set for the day,” Pomfrey said satisfactorily. She waved her wand at her cart, sending it travelling by itself down towards the end of the Hospital Wing. She was about to walk away, but Lily wasn’t about to let her get away _that_ easily, not when she was in a talkative mood.

“What could do that to a ghost?” Lily dared to ask.

“That’s what _we_ want to know,” Madame Pomfrey said, shaking her head. “They’ve cancelled classes for the week while they comb the castle, at the insistence of the governors.”

“The gov-“

“Don’t you worry about that right now, you’ll be seeing them soon enough. I think it best you rest before they arrive. And then, perhaps, a few more potions, just to be sure.”

“I don’t need anything else,” Lily said, “I feel-“

“Best leave it to the professional, dear,” Madame Pomfrey interrupted. “If you hadn’t snuck out without my knowing, I would have been able to catch your flu. You’ve been asleep three days as it is.”

“ _Three days_?” Lily repeated in shock.

“Three days,” Madame Pomfrey confirmed. “I don’t know _what_ you were thinking, spending all day out in the cold rain right after spending a night in the Hospital Wing.”

“It’s _Monday_?” Lily asked.

“Tuesday,” Madame Pomfrey corrected. “And you’ll be spending one more in here, I think. You’re still a bit feverish. Your flu is more stubborn than most, it won’t leave you without a fight. It was, perhaps, aggravated by whatever creature you ran into on the stairs. I see no other reason for it to stick around as long as it has.”

“I can’t-“ Lily started.

“You _can_ ,” Madame Pomfrey butted in with a glare, as she planted her hands firmly on her hips. “There’s no classes until Monday, I can keep you here all week if I deem it necessary.”

Lily was horrified. “You can’t-“

“Miss Potter,” Pomfrey interrupted sternly, “you were found passed out and feverish in a hallway with a petrified ghost and a fellow student collapsed on top of you. You were attacked by some dark creature that is _still_ unidentified, and you just slept for three days straight _without_ the assistance of any Sleeping Draughts. I most certainly can.”

Lily couldn’t find any room to argue with that logic, but she didn’t really have time to do so. The doors to the Hospital Wing swung open, and Dumbledore rushed in with three other individuals.

One of them, Lily was upset to find out, was Gran, still wearing that horrid, stuffed vulture a top her head and an extremely frilly, brown robe. Lily didn’t recognize the blonde man with the slicked back hair wearing fancy, black robes, but she gave him the same rough feeling that Malfoy always did with the way he immediately sneered in her general direction. The last was, of course, Professor Dumbledore, who’s kind smile did wonders to make Lily feel better about her situation.

“Good afternoon, Lily,” Dumbledore said. He sounded _very_ tired but altogether relieved to see Lily awake and alert.

“Good afternoon, Professor,” Lily repeated, trying to avoid her former caretaker’s gaze. She could feel both Gran and the blonde man staring at her, and she wasn’t sure which one was more unnerving.

“I believe you already know Mrs. Longbottom,” Dumbledore said as he gestured to the woman on his left. He gestured right after to the man on his left. “This is-“

“Lucius Malfoy,” he said, offering a hand as he met Lily’s gaze. Lily snorted; she didn’t actually expect to be right. She ignored his offer, just as she had done for his son the previous year. She didn’t want to go associating with a Malfoy. It seemed to offend the father just as much as it did the son, based on the look he was now giving her.

“I see your manners haven’t improved any,” Gran said, snorting herself.

Lily chose not to respond to that either.

“I’m sure she meant no offense, Augusta,” Lucius said coolly, withdrawing his hand. He placed it firmly back on his walking stick, which Lily noticed was adorned with a silver snake head. She thought it was tacky, but no doubt he found it impressive. He ran a hand through his hair, offering a smile that invoked no friendliness. Lily had a vague idea that she’d seen him before, although she couldn’t figure out where from.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked as nicely as she could.

“Well, now-“ Gran started up, her great chest puffing up as she tried to assert her full authority.

“I apologize for intruding on your rest, Lily,” Dumbledore interrupted. “I’m afraid the Governors insisted on meeting with you to hear your side of the story. We shall ask a few questions, and then we shall leave you in Pomfrey’s care.”

“The Governors?” Lily repeated, brow furrowing. “I didn’t know Gr- Mrs. Longbottom was one of the Governors.”

Gran snorted again. “What did you think I did, Potter?”

Dumbledore took control back, trying to steer it back on course. “Lily, I believe we have already pieced together what happened last night, but we would still like to hear it from you, if you are willing to tell us.”

Lily bit her lip. “I got sick at practice, Professor, so Oliver told Angelina to help me to the Hospital Wing. I passed out on the way here.”

“And you did not hear or see anything?” Dumbledore asked, leaning forward and staring directly into Lily’s eyes.

Lily fought the urge to look away. She met his gaze, and held her hands still so she couldn’t give the lie away. She couldn’t help but feel that Dumbledore already knew, but Ron’s suggestion stood out in her mind more clearly.

“No, Professor,” she answered. “I remember Nick saying he heard something, but then nothing until I woke up here, just ten minutes ago.”

Dumbledore leaned back, seemingly satisfied. Lily thought she saw a brief twinkle in his eye, but nobody else was watching the old man.

“Harry,” Lucius took over, “From what reports we have managed to gather, you received a sharp pain in your head prior to the two previous attacks. Could that have, possibly, happened this time as well?”

 _Harry?_ She must have misheard him.

“I dunno,” Lily lied again, “My whole body hurt, didn’t it? Head did, too, but I don’t-“

“Lily,” Gran interrupted, “I’m afraid if you don’t tell us the truth, you’ll be in far more trouble than you already _are_.”

Lily felt her hands move closer together, but she forced them to still. “I don’t-“

“Please,” Gran said, rolling her eyes. “You’ve gotten better, I admit, but I can still tell when you’re lying. I _always_ could.”

“I’m not lying,” Lily lied. She could feel a bit of anger welling up, and that helped her to feel more confident. She’d had quite enough of Gran refusing to believe a single word she said, and she would do _nothing_ to help the woman find a reason to lock her away.

“Now, you listen-“ Gran began.

“That is quite enough, Augusta,” Dumbledore interrupted. Gran looked like she was about to start laying into him instead, but she managed to pull herself together.

“Is it, Dumbledore?” Lucius said quietly. “We are here to ascertain whether or not the school is safe enough to continue. If Miss Potter has information that would prove otherwise, then we should hear it, _especially_ as she is currently our main suspect.”

“I told you everything,” Lily repeated. “I got sick, I passed out. I didn’t see a thing.”

“Lucius,” Dumbledore said calmly, “As far as we can tell, whatever is attacking the students can petrify with ease. A second-year _girl_ , such as herself, is simply incapable of that level of magic, even an exceptional one like _Lily._ If she claims that she did not see anything, then I am inclined to believe her.”

“Come now, Dumbledore, you’ve seen the reports in the paper, the same as I,” Lucius said. “She’s-“

“Innocent in these matters,” Dumbledore interrupted, peering at Lucius sternly. “I have already heard your opinion on these matters, but I do not believe _any_ of my students capable of these attacks. And, seeing as how you were outvoted on the matter of both suspension and expulsion, I believe the other Governors believe the same.”

“You think it’s a student?” Lily asked sharply. She chose not to dwell on the thought of expulsion, as scary as that was.

“I do _not_ ,” Dumbledore repeated. “If, indeed, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, it would be the monster within behind these attacks.”

“Then we should be investigating who is _opening_ the Chamber, should we not?” Lucius said smugly. “Unless it is a professor, it must be a student, must it not?”

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled again. “Ah, Lucius, but if it is a student, which it is not, then it must be one in _your_ old house, must it not? I do believe they called themselves the ‘Heir of Slytherin.’ Lily is in Gryffindor, last I checked.”

Lucius looked lost for words. Lily couldn’t help but notice that Gran wouldn’t take her eyes of her. She briefly wondered which way Gran had voted. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Lily leaned back into her pillow. If it was a Slytherin, it had to be Malfoy. He was the only one she knew for sure was cruel enough to attack people. And, judging by the way his father had paled at the mere suggestion, she thought Dumbledore was right on the money.

“I believe the last incident was-“ Lucius began.

“Not here,” Gran barked. “We should go back to the office, if we’re assuming Potter doesn’t know anything after all.”

“A fine idea,” Dumbledore said, leading the charge out the door. “I believe I shall send for a platter of sandwiches for us all. It’s bound to be a long day.”

Madame Pomfrey made sure the door was firmly shut behind them before she set back to work. She looked a bit agitated at the interruption, but it clearly wasn’t anything she had control over. She shuffled over to a cabinet and began shuffling through it, clearly looking for _something_.

“What did he mean by the last incident?” Lily asked.

Pomfrey froze for an instant, then continued working. Lily assumed she wasn’t going to get an answer to that question, and _that_ was assuming Pomfrey even knew the answer in the first place. She had no idea how long Pomfrey had been at Hogwarts.

“Has anyone come to visit?” she asked instead.

“Course they have,” Pomfrey answered. “Had to turn them away constantly. Those friends of yours are too stubborn for their own good. Comes with being a Gryffindor, I suppose. The whole lot of you are by far my most frequent patients. Keep getting into trouble.”

“You can let them in, now,” Lily said before the old lady could continue on. Lily knew from experience that her spiel could last a long time if it wasn’t nipped in the bud. She was one of those frequent customers.

“You can see them tomorrow,” Pomfrey offered, “Once you leave here. For now, you rest.”

Lily took that as a good sign that Pomfrey was just bluffing earlier, and she fully intended to hold her to this new promise. She didn’t want to spend any more time in here than was absolutely necessary.

“Who came to visit?” she asked.

“Weasley and Longbottom,” Pomfrey said. “They only left the doors when forced to do so by a prefect or professor. That Brown and Patil came to see you, as well as Bell, and Granger kept looking nervously over at the door but never found the courage to come inside like the rest of them did.”

“Hermione came?” Lily wondered aloud.

“Never came in, I just said that,” Pomfrey corrected. “Now, off to bed with you, you need more rest.”

“I just slept three days,” Lily complained.

“And you’re still feverish, so you’ll have at least one more,” Pomfrey ordered.

True to her word, Lily had a sleeping draught poured down her gullet before she could argue any further. She had another dreamless sleep, briefly awoken by Pomfrey pouring another potion down her throat in the middle of the night.

As a result, the whole thing was a haze in her memory. She thought she could remember some people talking over her bed at some point, perhaps while it was still light out, but she couldn’t remember any faces, nor what they were talking about. She might have passed it off as the first memory of a dream, but she distinctly recalled them talking about her, at the very least.

Lily awoke the next morning to Pomfrey placing her hand on her now much cooler forehead. It wasn’t quite as bright in the room as it had been the last time she was conscious, and she hoped breakfast was still running; she was once again _very_ hungry.

“Fever’s gone,” Pomfrey croaked. “How’s the rest of you feeling?”

“Stiff,” Lily said groggily. She should have expected the old lady would start badgering her the moment she woke up. The least she could have done was send down for a plate of food. It was now at least 4 days since the last solid meal that Lily could remember, perhaps even 5. She couldn’t remember whether or not she on the day of the actual attacks, although she certainly hoped she did.

“That’s better than aching,” Pomfrey said. “Certainly an improvement to how you _were_ feeling. You screamed a few times that first night, did you know?”

“I did?” Lily asked. She certainly had no recollection of it.

“You did,” Pomfrey confirmed. “I thought it might just be a nightmare at first, but you kept shouting about being in pain all over.”

“I was shouting?” Lily asked, completely confused. She’d had nightmares since coming back to Hogwarts, for sure, but Lavender and Parvati said they hadn’t been too bad so far. She hoped this wasn’t a new trend.

“Nearly gave me a heart attack, I thought someone was back to finish the job.” Pomfrey poured one last potion for Lily, handing it over to shaky hands. She frowned at that, but Lily tried to give her a smile.

“Just the nerves,” she said. She didn’t like the idea of screaming in her sleep very much.

Pomfrey sniffed, but seemed to accept the answer. “Just a Head Clearing Potion, that one. Your friends said you’ve been having headaches. That should help a bit.”

Lily took a sip of the potion. She was surprised it had no flavor. Despite it’s deep purple coloring, it tasted like plain water. As she finished it, her brain felt cold, as if dunked in ice. She didn’t know if she liked the feeling.

“Have a shower,” Pomfrey said, gesturing to a fresh set of robes she’d set aside on the bedside table. Lily noticed that her Self-Tying Tie was _not_ the one laying out for her. She hoped she still remembered how to do one manually. “Then you’ll be free to go.”

“Are classes still canceled?” Lily asked as she sat up, tossing the blanket off her still sore legs. She supposed that was only natural. She hadn’t gotten much use out of them, lately. They didn’t hurt as bad as they had once before, back when the Dursleys locked her in her cupboard for a whole summer when she was 8 or 9. Lily didn’t even remember the reason, but she remembered a lot of crying and pain.

“Of course they are, girl,” Pomfrey confirmed. “You’ll be heading straight up to your dorm room, as well. They aren’t limiting travel around the castle just yet, but even so, it’s best to have as few people in the hallways as possible.”

“Has Penelope asked for me?” Lily asked.

“Who?”

“Penelope Clearwater,” Lily clarified. “Ravenclaw prefect. She’s supposed to be tutoring me tomorrow. It’s still Wednesday, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed,” Pomfrey confirmed. “And no, she hasn’t. The prefects have been busy patrolling the school, I doubt she’ll have time for you. Now, off with you, I have other duties to attend to.”

Lily did as she was told, showering and then quickly throwing on her school robes. Pomfrey didn’t bother saying farewell before Lily left, so Lily didn’t bother looking for her. She could tell when she wasn’t wanted. Most of the time. At least there was, mercifully, a plate of food sitting on her bed as she returned. Lily thought that more than made up for it, even if she could have gone for several more.

Clearly the rest of the school was listening to Pomfrey’s advice, as the hallways were mostly abandoned. She did run into a rather mean Slytherin prefect on her way upstairs, but she managed to give him the slip by ducking into a hidden room she’d learned about last year. She could hear him huffing as he passed by, although that also could have been the suit of armor stashed in this particular cubby. Fred and George warned her it liked to get frisky with students hiding in here, but she was pretty sure they were just messing with her. It never tried anything any of the times she’d been in here.

Lily noticed the portraits weren’t very talkative today. They seemed to only communicate in hushed whispers with each other, looking around in a fright at every little sound. Lily let out a sneeze as she crossed the seventh floor, and that sent the lot of them running in every direction. She might have found it amusing, if the implications weren’t terrifying.

“Dungleworm,” Lily announced as she arrived at the Fat Lady’s portrait.

“No,” the Fat Lady responded dryly, swirling a glass of wine lazily in her free hand.

“Pardon?” Lily asked in a squeaky voice.

“Password changed yesterday,” the Fat Lady said with a sniff. She was clearly in a foul mood. She must have been arguing with her drinking buddy, Violet, again. They’d make up in a few days.

“I was in the Hospital Wing, I don’t know the new password,” Lily said, feeling more than a little frustrated.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you in without the password,” the Fat Lady answered.

“There’s a monster attacking students, and you’re going to make me go find a prefect?” Lily complained.

“Shouldn’t be too much of a bother,” the Fat Lady responded. “They’re all over the place, after all.”

“Do you know where Percy is, at least?” Lily asked, completely fed up. “Or any of our prefects, for that matter?”

“I believe Mr. Weasley was assigned the dungeons today,” the Fat Lady said. “Miss Ferry is on the second, Miss Periwinkle on the fourth, and Mr. Ferry on the first. The other two are on break inside.”

The Ferry’s were brother and sister, although they were a year apart. She also didn’t like them, since they were quite rude to her during the last year. She was pretty sure they didn’t like how sloppy she kept her tie and were just trying to impress McGonagall. She was terrified that Laura, the younger, would make Head Girl next year. She’d never get away with anything if that happened.

“Can’t you just get Ron for me?” Lily asked. “Or Neville, or Lav, or Parvati, Or Katie, or anybody else?” Her tie was sitting in her robe, crumpled up, and she wasn’t looking forward to trying to sneak past anybody without the map.

“I’m afraid not,” the Fat Lady said. “Although Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom are currently _out_ of the common room, if you’d like to go find them instead.”

“They are?” Lily asked in a high pitched, confused tone. “Where did _they_ go?”

“Down below,” the Fat Lady answered. “They’re not in the habit of telling me a thing, quite like you.”

“Do you mind if I ask a question?”

“You just did,” The Fat Lady said snidely as she took a sip from her glass.

“Did any of the portraits see what attacked us?” Lily asked.

“No,” The Fat Lady answered shrewdly. “Whatever it is, us portraits cannot see it. A shame, really. It’d all be over by now if we could.”

“And none of them saw somebody sneaking around to release the thing?”

“Most certainly not. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Thanks,” Lily responded curtly as she turned on her heel, heading back the way she’d come. She didn’t know why the portrait was being so obstinate today; her fight with Violet must have been especially nasty this time around. She almost felt bad, but she _was_ currently locked outside in the very, _very_ cold hallways while a monster was supposedly hunting down students.

Lily had to duck into an empty classroom to avoid that Slytherin prefect again, but he didn’t seem to notice her slip by. She knew she wasn’t _technically_ breaking any rules, other than the tie thing, but she didn’t want him finding some excuse to deduct points or give a detention.

She did manage to run into Julianne Periwinkle on the fourth floor, which she thought was quite lucky. She was far nicer than the other Gryffindor prefects, even Percy. She never even mentioned Lily’s missing article of clothing. Lily liked her quite a bit. She had rather nice wavy, brown hair and a toothy, bright smile to go with it, plus eyes that perfectly matched her namesake.

From her, she learned that Ron was currently serving his detention on the third floor, cleaning out the trophy room by hand. Neville had gone to keep him company. Lily was a little upset that they hadn’t waited for her, but she supposed there was really no way they could have known she was getting out today. Pomfrey certainly wouldn’t have told any of them.

She found them in the room, just as promised. Ron was bent on all fours, scrubbing out a large, bronze trophy with a filthy looking rag. Neville was leaning against another trophy case, back turned towards her. Neither noticed her presence, which gave her a brilliant idea.

Lily kept up quietly as she could, taking good care to not scuff her feet against the ground. The sound of Ron’s grunts did well to hide her own. She stood behind Neville, stretching her hand out.

She clamped down on Neville’s shoulder and gave out a loud, “Beware!”

Neville shrieked, jumping a good foot into the air. Ron jumped as well, more startled by the sudden movement than by anything else. He dropped the trophy, and it struck the ground with a _thunk_ before rolling away, coming to a stop in front of a cabinet full of plaques.

“Lily!” Neville said excitedly as he calmed down. He threw her into a hug. She returned it, feeling a bit bad for scaring him. At least he didn’t seem to mind.

“Great,” Ron said as he scooped up his fallen trophy. “Now I’ve got a dent to get out of this one, too.”

“We thought you were dead when we found you,” Neville said as he broke the hug.

“ _You_ found me?” she asked. She supposed she probably should have asked who did it, but she just assumed it was one of the professors stumbled upon them.

“Neville saw you on the map with Angelina and Nick, and we went up to check since you weren’t moving,” Ron confirmed from his place near the cabinet. He was trying to push the dent out of the metal, but it didn’t seem to be working very well. It only served to bend the rest of it.

“Did you see who attacked us?” Lily asked.

Neville shook his head. “No, I didn’t. Everybody else was at the feast”

“Tell her the other thing, Neville,” Ron said hurriedly.

“Well, not everybody,” Neville corrected, “Malfoy was in the dungeons with his goons all day. Crabbe and Goyle went up for the feast, but he stayed behind.”

“Was he in the common room?” Lily asked. She could see it on the map sitting in the dungeons. She didn’t know how to get in, of course, but she knew where it _was_. The Slytherins spent most of their time there. They seemed less likely to venture out of their common room than the other houses.

Neville shook his head again. “He was in an unused cell. I don’t know what he was up to.”

“Should we go check?” Lily piped up. She’d love to see what he was up to, if only to satisfy her own curiosity.

“We already did,” Ron said. “Didn’t find anything there. Either there’s a secret only he knows about in there, or he took it with him.”

Lily thought for a moment. “Were you watching the map the entire time?”

Neville nodded. “I was watching all day, up in the common room. Dean and Seamus were out, so nobody saw me using it.”

“And you saw me coming up the stairs with Angelina?”

Neville nodded again. “I thought it was weird that you were walking so close together. I thought you must have gotten hurt again at practice.”

Lily sniffed at that. She didn’t get hurt _that_ often, despite what Madame Pomfrey might think. “Did you see what attacked us?”

Neville shook his head this time. “Already said I didn’t. There was nothing there but you two. Didn’t even know Nick was there until I found you.”

“Wait, if you were in the common room, then how did Ron come down with you? He was still in practice.”

“Well,” Ron said sheepishly, “I- err- actually just sort of wandered into it the same time he did. I was just coming to check on you in the Hospital Wing.”

“Okay,” Lily accepted. “What do you think did it, then, if you were both coming from opposite sides? Surely one of you saw it?”

Ron shook his head. “Wasn’t looking, Lily. I didn’t think something would attack during the Feast.”

“I was looking, but I just didn’t see anything,” Neville said. “The portraits were calling out for help, though, Ron told me earlier that he heard it, too.”

“So you heard the portraits calling for help, but you didn’t think to look around?” Lily asked.

Ron shook his head again. “I thought Angelina was just having trouble carrying you, so I rushed on ahead. Passed Hermione on the second floor, we sent her after the professors once we saw what happened.”

“I thought you said everybody was at the feast?” Lily asked Neville.

“Well, I was just watching the Slytherins, like you wanted,” Neville said. “But do you really think _Hermione_ is the one behind it?”

“That’d be something,” Ron suggested. “Do you reckon she’d write about it in that little diary of hers?”

“No, it can’t be a Gryffindor,” Lily said. “It’s gotta be a Slytherin, Dumbledore thinks so, too.”

“Dumbledore?” Ron asked curiously. “When were you talking to Dumbledore?”

“Yesterday,” Lily said. “He came to question me with Gran and Malfoy’s dad. They both thought I did it, but Dumbledore said that if it was a student at all, it’d have to be a Slytherin.”

“Whatever it is, it isn’t a student or a ghost,” Ron said. “We figured that much out already, not unless they let it out before the feast with orders to sneak out when everybody was busy.”

Lily thought for a moment. “Would a monster or animal show up on the map?”

“They never do,” Neville said. “None of the owls ever have, anyway, and you can’t see any of Hagrid’s animals, either. Plus, some of Lockhart’s pixies are still around, and none of them show up, either.”

Lily thought for a longer moment. “It could still be a student, then. Maybe somebody brought something in, something that can petrify people but can’t be seen.”

“You think that’s why we couldn’t see what was in the cell?” Ron asked. “You think Malfoy’s hiding something down there?”

“Could be,” Lily suggested. “Who else could it be? You said everybody else was at the feast.”

“Tell us what you saw,” Neville suggested. “That might help us figure it out.”

Lily thought for an even longer moment, trying her absolute best to recall what happened. She shook her head when she was done, since it was a fruitless effort. She’d already told Dumbledore everything. Almost everything, at least.

“I didn’t _see_ anything,” Lily said in a whisper. “But my head was splitting open, and I could hear that voice again.”

“So it’s a monster that only you can hear,” Ron offered, “And that makes your head hurt every time it comes out. That should narrow it down a bit.”

“If you’re almost done, we can hit the library,” Lily suggested. “I don’t think anybody is using it right now, we could get a lot done.”

“We’d need access to the restricted section,” Neville butt in. “I don’t think we’d find anything in the normal selection.”

Lily considered that option. “How do we get in? I still don’t know who took my cloak.”

“We could ask Lockhart,” Ron offered.

“What good would that-“ Lily began before interrupting her own thought. “If we’re going to ask Lockhart, why don’t we just have him tell us everything?”

“What do you mean?” Ron asked.

“He’s a professor, they _have_ to include him in the investigations, right?” Lily said. “One of us can just go ask him, he’ll tell us everything he knows.”

“It’ll have to be you, then,” Neville said with a firm nod.

“Pardon?”

“Neville’s right,” Ron agreed, “He won’t tell _us_ anything, but if you go, he won’t be able to help himself.

“No,” Lily said.

“Oh, come on, Lily, you have to!”

“I’m not doing it,” Lily refused. “I _won’t_.”

Lily found herself soon after on the third floor, standing outside Lockhart’s classroom. She had the map back in her possession, and already confirmed that Lockhart was, indeed, resting inside his office. Neville offered to go with her, but she made him stay with Ron. He needed help cleaning if he was going to be done by nightfall.

She cursed Ron silently as she pushed the door open. Lockhart’s office was connected to the classroom. You had to cross it, and then climb the stairs. His portraits all seemed to be enjoying some beauty sleep. All of them, surprisingly, wore a sleeping mask to cover their eyes. Lily assumed the real Lockhart must, as well. She hoped he wasn’t asleep. She’d have to knock to wake him, and that would wake the portraits as well.

The door was, unfortunately, locked. She cursed Ron again, then knocked loudly three times.

The door clicked open right after, and a nervous looking Lockhart poked his head out. He smiled broadly when he saw Lily standing there, suddenly looking far more confident.

“Lily!” he said as he swung the door fully open. “Thought you were- never mind that. Good to see you’re out of the hospital! Was quite worried for you, you know. Thought you might have been dead, since you were the only one crumpled on the ground.”

“Err-“ Lily stammered.

“What bring you to my humble abode?” Lockhart gestured for Lily to enter said abode, drawing a chair out for her to sit on. He took one himself behind his rather large deck. He had a stack of fan mail laying upon it. It seemed he was halfway through sorting through them.

_Why are you answering fan mail instead of patrolling the castle_? Lily thought. She had seen the rest of the professors doing so, with at least one on each floor. Lockhart’s floor only had prefects.

Lockhart’s abode was _not_ humble, no matter what lies he told himself. He decorated it much like his classroom. It was adorned with dozens of portraits of himself. He even had a little display in the corner set up with all his novels. Lily could have sworn there were candles set up next to it, as if he prayed to this strange altar of himself every night.

Lily did _not_ take the seat. “I was wondering if I could ask you a favor, sir.”

Lockhart seemed confused, but he broadened his smile as he came to a revelation. “Come to ask advice on handling your fame, eh? Can’t say I’m surprised! I figured you’d swing by one of these days, although I must admit-“

“Actually, sir,” Lily interrupted, “I was wondering if you knew anything about the Chamber of Secrets.” She thought it best to just get it out in the open. The less time she spent in this man’s company, the better.

“Ah,” Lockhart said brightly. “I _thought_ you might come to see me about that eventually. You were a lot faster than I expected. What would you like to know?”

“You’re- You’re going to tell me, sir?”

“Why, of course!” Lockhart said with a loud, boisterous laugh. “Why, I fully suspect you and I are the only two capable of handling the beast within. Best we share our suspicions, yes?

“Err-“ Lily stammered. “Of course, sir, that’s- that’s why I’m here?”

“Thought so, thought so,” Lockhart repeated eagerly. “Any specific questions?”

“Err- yes, sir, I was- I was wondering if- if you knew what was inside it?”

“Well, the myths, Lily, tell us that it is a very dangerous beast, indeed, as I’m sure you have already guessed. As to what is inside it, well I have my suspicions.”

“And those are, sir?”

“Well, the last time it was opened, it was-“

“It was opened before, Professor?” Lily asked quickly.

Lockhart looked surprised at the interruption. “Of course, 50 years ago. There was a student killed, don’t remember her name. But it was opened by a former student, who was then expelled for the deed. Don’t know his name; records expunged it, due to the culprit being a minor at the time.”

“Do- did- did they say what was inside it, Professor?”

“And Acromantula,” Lockhart said proudly. “And a rather dangerous one, that that, if it could kill with one bite. Its venom must be a bit less potent now, if it’s only petrifying.”

“An Acromantula, Professor?” Lily said in disbelief. “Really? How- how would that even attack a _ghost_?”

“Well, if it’s the beast of Salazar Slytherin, as we’ve been told, then it’ll be heavily modified and enchanted,” Lockhart explained enthusiastically. “OF course, it’s only a matter of time before I run into it myself, so, no need to worry! I know the _precise_ counters to each of its tricks, so it shouldn’t-“

“Where did it go, Professor?”

“Pardon?”

“The Acromantula that killed the student, where did it go, if they found it?”

“Oh,” Lockhart said, “Well, it escaped, didn’t it? Must have retreated back into the Chamber, where it’s been until now.”

“Right,” Lily said, “So, a giant spider has been roaming around the castle halls, biting people, and nobody has ever seen it?”

“Precisely!” Lockhart said with a clap of his hands. “Why, if only I could have-“

“Professor, have any bite wounds been on any of the victims?”

“Pardon?”

“The victims, Professor,” Lily repeated, “Did any of them get bit?”

Lockhart paused, then quickly glanced over to the clock he kept hanged on the wall.

“Why, look at the time, Lily!” He said, proving Lily’s theory correct, “I’m afraid I must be getting back on patrol, soon, so we’ll have to cut this little meeting short. Feel free to close the door behind you, I’ll be right out.”

“Right,” Lily said as she stood. She didn’t even bother glancing at the professor as she went towards the door.

“Word of warning, Lily,” Lockhart said as she attempted to exit. “I’m afraid this attack will only make you _more_ popular around the school with a certain, err- a certain _crowd,_ we’ll say. You’ve seen the Prophet, yes?”

“Pardon?” Lily said, as it was now her turn for confusion.

“They’re, err- not so subtly claiming that _you_ are behind the attacks, Lily.”

“Are you-“

“Not to worry, Lily, not to worry!” Lockhart said reassuringly. “The truth _always_ comes out in the end on matters such as these, I’m sure you will be vindicated in no time!”

Lockhart offered his brightest smile and his slyest wink after that little tidbit.

_What in Merlin’s name is_ that _supposed to mean?_ Lily thought to herself as she shut the door behind her. She ignored the paintings calling out to her as she exited the classroom. She didn’t have time to worry about anything else, she was supposed to head up to the common room to meet up with Ron and Neville.

“You there, Potter,” she heard as she attempted to cross the sixth floor. She turned, letting out a groan as she saw the Slytherin prefect from before heading towards her. She should have known he’d still be nearby, and now she’d probably be serving her own detention soon enough. She reached into her robe for her tie, since she’d, at the least, need to put that on.

The Slytherin boy stopped in front of her, standing up straight to seem more impressive. He had short, black hair in a military cut, and a rather small face with beady, brown eyes. Lily thought he might have a small stain on his own green and silver tie.

“Do you know why I stopped you, Potter?” he said snidely.

“No,” Lily answered, telling the full truth. She had a feeling it was just to give some general harassment, though, although she knew better than to say it to a prefect. She _would_ get stopped in one of the few sections of Hogwarts that didn’t have any portraits.

“I wanted to congratulate you on your efforts,” he said, holding out a hand for Lily to shake. “The Prophet might not have mentioned it, but we know why you _really_ went after them.”

Lily froze in surprise. _Congratulate me?_ She thought to herself. _The Prophet? Went after_ who?

She accepted the handshake without thinking about it, feeling utterly baffled by what she was experiencing. The Slytherins hand was a bit moist with sweat, which only furthered her discomfort.

“Didn’t think you had it in you, Potter,” the prefect said. “Thought you were a blood traitor, like those Weasleys you hang around with.”

“Blood traitors?” Lily repeated idly.

“Course, always hanging around those filthy Mudbloods,” he said, spitting to the side. Lily didn’t think that was very prefect-like. Filch would have to clean it up later, and she’d feel sorry for whatever student happened to be nearby when he did.

“Err-“ Lily stammered, wiping her hand on her robe. She now felt _very_ dirty for accepting the honor.

“Most of Slytherin still doubts you, but I wanted you to know you’re gaining our respect,” he said. “I won’t report you if I see you around. Now, go on, get out of here before somebody else sees you. I’ll leave you to your work.”

The prefect walked away. Lily continued standing there one hand holding her tie, the other still rubbing against her side.

“What- what the- what- what just happened?” she asked herself.


	19. Graceful Maneuvers

Lily never managed to get her hands on that article that was so well-known around the school, but she did manage to get the gist of it from Lavender, who borrowed it from an older Gryffindor. Supposedly, it claimed that she was under heavy suspicion of being behind the attacks on Muggleborn students around the school. Lily thought that was clear malarkey, but the rest of the school didn’t seem to agree. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs that shared her classes were now all sitting much further away than they had before, and she was pretty sure she could hear them whispering about her every so often. Lily blamed Lockhart for the harsh treatment; Lavender said he gave the interview that incriminated her (despite Dumbledore’s orders for nobody to talk to the press), although she also said he clearly didn’t mean it to be taken in that way. Lily believed that part, at least. Lockhart was enough of an idiot to accidentally make her the most hated person in school.

She stopped attending the Ancient Runes Club, even though Ignatius assured her he wouldn’t allow anybody to target her. She figured it wasn’t worth the risk, even if Luna said she’d miss the company. Lily just couldn’t stand the stares she was getting from the other members. Even Penelope was acting a bit coldly during their weekly practice sessions, but that could just be the Percy thing. Lily felt like she was equally as embarrassed and flustered when she spent time around the girl. Sometimes she felt like she was _more_ flustered, to be honest, and some of their meetings ended very early because of it. She could hardly focus during them.

Turns out, though, that Lily was suddenly a lot more popular with one specific section of the school: the Slytherins. For some unknown reason, they seemed to respect her a lot more than they had before. As the month neared the first Quidditch match, they seemed to be trying to injure every member of the Gryffindor team _except_ for her, which was a vast improvement over the previous year. The weirdest of all was Pansy Parkinson, who baked Lily a _cake_ of all things. It was a bright green, with a silver serpent streaking through the frosting, and Pansy stood there, in the Dining Hall, for ten uncomfortable minutes, waiting for Lily to take a bite. She didn’t eat it, of course. It could have been _poisoned_.

The Quidditch team was on her side, for sure, although they definitely felt the loss of Angelina. Alicia was a bit grumpier around her, to be sure, but she was always a grumpy person. Lily was pretty sure she just missed her friend. Katie clearly missed her, too, but she coped by being _very_ talkative. Lily hardly ever had a moment to herself anymore, even outside of classes, and she found herself walking back to the castle with the Chaser girl instead of Ron more often than not. Ron didn’t seem to mind, though; he was _also_ very grumpy, although for very different reasons. Now that Angelina was gone, he had to take up her starting position, and the stress was clearly getting to him. Wood kept trying to bolster all their spirits, as well as give Ron solid advice, but the second-year boy only ever seemed to play worse when he knew other people thought he was doing poorly. Fred and George’s taunts weren’t helping, either. They kept trying to make the same kind of jokes they would have before, but they were clearly hurting Ron’s feelings, whether they meant it to or not. Lily and Katie both told them off after the third practice, though, and they were much more careful about their jokes afterwards. The twins switched their target to Lily at that point.

The Friday before the game, Lily found herself attending a History of Magic lesson with Neville. They both thought they really couldn’t afford to skip the class anymore, but Ron clearly disagreed; his seat, right next to her, was empty. His loss, really. He missed an incredible lecture about _bathrooms_ of all things.

“The modern pipe, as we know it today,” Binns droned on, pacing straight through his podium with his ghostly body, “Was invented in 897 by Phineas the Brown. Phineas devised a series of magical glyphs and charms that could not only propel water upwards through tubes of bronze, but could also warm or cool it as desired. This research was borrowed by Salazar Slytherin during the construction of Hogwarts, which is the first known practical application of it. Prior to the usage, the research was entirely theoretical. Phineas was notably pleased by the outcome, however, and he alter proposed to Rowena Ravenclaw after exchanging a series of letters with the lady, having mistakenly believed that _she_ was the one responsible. He was refused.”

Lily couldn’t possibly imagine _why_.

“Ravenclaw was impressed with the invention, however, and worked together with Slytherin afterwards to upgrade the piping from bronze to iron, and even developed an enchantment to prevent rusting or flaking. Muggles eventually figured out their own way of copying pipes and plumbing, albeit centuries later. To this day, it is unknown how they managed this without magic. Our own systems were modernized in the 1900s to help Muggleborn students acclimate. Installation was extremely easy; it required virtually no serious renovation work, as most of the sinks were already in place. All that had to be done was to replace the rudimentary items with modern toilets and showers.”

Lily wondered how wizards ever could have gotten along without _toilets_ of all things. She couldn’t help but imagine them soiling themselves wherever they stood and then vanishing it away as if it never happened. That was, quite frankly, absurd and completely unbelievable, even if the idea did bring a smile to her face. She spent the rest of that lesson trying to sketch what it would look like, sniggering to herself in amusement.

Saturday rolled around, unfortunately for Ron. Lily woke up bright and early, feeling much better about her prospects than she had this time last year. She was better at flying now, had a significantly faster broom, and the Slytherins weren’t even trying to murder her. And without He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wandering the castle, she was pretty sure nobody else would be after her. The thought still sent a shiver down her spine, though. She had a knot in her stomach, as well, that she was worried would keep her from eating breakfast. At the very least, though, her head wasn’t hurting. It’d been doing that at least once every day now, although never as bad as during the attack.

Lily dressed in silence, not wanting to wake the slumbering Hermione laying in the bed closest to the window. That was abnormal, Lily knew; she was supposed to be the first one up. She’d been sleeping a lot more this year. Lily assumed it had to do with her health; she’d been looking sickly and pale for weeks now. Lily was pretty sure she’d accidentally spread the flu she was wracked with earlier; Lavender and Parvati each spent a single day sick, while Hermione ignored all of Lily’s suggestions to go to Madame Pomfrey.

What was even _more_ unusual, however, were the two beds that were empty, other than Lily’s own. Lavender and Parvati _never_ got up this early on a weekend. There was absolutely no sign of either of them, and she certainly never heard them leave the room at any point during the night. She supposed she must have just slept through it.

Lily yawned as she descended into the common room wearing her school robes; she’d change into her Quidditch robes later, right before the game. She’d come back for those and her broom after trying to eat some breakfast. Ron was already sitting on a couch as she arrived, staring solemnly into the fireplace, wearing his Quidditch robes sloppily. He hardly looked like he slept at all.

Lily took the seat next to him, stretching to get rid of the stiffness in her back. She’d forgone the tie, hoping she might receive a little slack just this once. She wouldn’t be wearing it during the game, so what did it matter if she wore it before?

“Morning,” she said.

Ron grunted in response, eyes not leaving the flames.

“Did you sleep at all?” Lily asked. He really did look absolutely dreadful. His face was pale and clammy, his hair was uncombed and a bit greasy, and he had dark bags under his eyes.

“No,” Ron answered. “Neville kept me up with his snoring, and Seamus with his mumbling, and Dean with his- with his-“

“Do you want to get some breakfast?” Lily asked, standing and stretching once more. She didn’t feel like sitting around moping. She might even go for a walk before the game; it was rather nice out. First non-rainy day they had in a full week. “Good conditions for playing,” she could hear Oliver say in her head.

“No,” Ron grumbled, standing up to follow regardless. That brought a smile to Lily’s face.

“We’ll be fine, Ron,” Lily said reassuringly as they left the common room. The Fat Lady called out words of encouragement, and Lily waved back at her to acknowledge it. Violet was sitting with her again; they made up a few days ago. They’d both be drunk by the time the Gryffindors returned from the game. Lily just hoped they’d remember what the password was. Neville got locked out two nights ago when they told him he was wrong. He only got in because Lily happened to be watching the map that night, and she saw him curling up in the corner right near the entrance. She gave both painted ladies a firm lecture for it, but she wasn’t sure either of them remembered it at all.

“ _You_ will be,” Ron said glumly, staring at the ground as he dragged his feet behind her. “The Slytherins haven’t been threatening to string you up between classes, have they?”

“Not this year,” Lily said, “But they did last year, remember? I was fine.”

“You spent a week in the Hospital Wing,” Ron pointed out. “Your _skull_ was cracked open.”

“It wasn’t _that_ long,” Lily corrected. “And I almost won the game, didn’t I?”

“How come you aren’t nervous anymore?”

“Dunno!” Lily answered cheerily. “I think it’s because you’ll be playing, if you want the truth. It’ll be better with a friend out there. Last year I had to face it alone.”

That didn’t seem to satisfy Ron, and he sunk back into a sullen silence. Lily hummed as they reached the staircase downwards. She was in an unusually good mood lately, all things considered, and she intended to make the most of it, grumpy Ronald or no.

Ron didn’t answer any of Lily’s other prompts as they descended, nor any of her hooks during breakfast itself. Lily tried to put on an air of optimism, anyway, even though the boy was starting to get inside her head as well. She was now worrying that Slytherin _was_ planning to kill her during the game, and they’d just been pretending to be friendly before it as some sort of ruse. _That seems like them_ , she thought.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Lily asked once she finished her plate of food. She wanted more, truth be told, but she learned the hard way not to eat too much before flying around at high speeds. She spent a half hour vomiting in the bushes last time, Katie holding her hair back so she wouldn’t make it nasty.

“No,” Ron answered coldly, not leaving his seat this time. Lily didn’t push; if she forced him to come, it would only make him worse. She left him there, instead, pushing a cold sausage around on his plate.

Despite how nice it was outside, Lily barely spent any time out there. It was _far_ too cold for that at this time of year. A few more weeks, and it’d be snowing. She was back inside five minutes later, shivering and rubbing her arms against her chest for warmth. She didn’t know how she was going to make it through the winter months, let alone today’s game. At the very least, she didn’t have to live in the dungeons like the Slytherins did. No wonder they were so miserable to be around.

She poked her head into the Great Hall, but Ron was gone by that point. She went upstairs, instead. The general student body was making their way down at this point, and she still needed to grab her things from the tower. She stopped at the second floor for a brief chat with Katie, who quickly invited her to breakfast (and seemed sad when Lily said no), then continued on her way.

“Wattlebird,” Lily announced as she arrived back at the Fat Lady. There really wasn’t any need to use the password; students were now streaming out at a near steady stream. Still, she didn’t want to wait the three seconds it would have taken for somebody else to come through.

“Lily!” Lavender called out from across the room as she entered. Lavender quickly crossed over, throwing her arms around Lily for a hug.

Lily blinked in surprised. She wasn’t used to such an enthusiastic greeting, especially at such an abnormal time. She hadn’t even _done_ anything yet. She still returned the hug, of course. It was the first one Lavender gave out to her, and she wasn’t going to squander a little affection. Lavender smelled like flowery shampoo, and her hair was still a bit damp.

“Why the hug, Lav?” Lily asked as they finally separated. Parvati approached far more carefully; she never seemed to hug anyone but Lavender and Padma, her twin. That was fine. Lily wouldn’t force the issue. Ron didn’t like physical contact, either.

“We found something for you,” she answered in an excited, squealing tone. “Go on, Parvati, show her!”

“ _Caliosus_ ,” Parvati incantated, wand aimed at Lily. Lily smiled as the familiar feeling washed over, removing all sense of cold from her body.

“What’s that?” she asked, knowing full well what it did.

“It stops you from being cold!” Lavender squealed. “We remembered that you’re always complaining about it, so we got up early and went to the library to find it for you!”

“You did?” Lily asked, blinking in surprise. “You _never_ go to the library.”

“We thought we’d make a special exception,” Lavender said, proudly crossing her arms. Her smile lit up her face. Lily didn’t have the heart to tell her the spell didn’t actually _do_ what it advertised, or to tell her she’d already tried it.

“She just wanted to make up for the cat thing,” Parvati said with a yawn. She covered up her mouth with one hand, even though her teeth were immaculate. Lavender gave her a playful slap on the arm, then turned back to Lily, all smiles and niceties.

“Well, thanks,” Lily said sheepishly, grinning as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Both of you, really, I really appreciate it. This’ll help wonders. You, err- you didn’t use it on yourselves, did you?”

“We didn’t need to,” Lavender explained, “we’ll be nice and bundled up in the stands!”

“I’ll let you know how it goes, then,” Lily said, maintaining the smile as she began to walk off. “I have to go grab my things, I’ll see you both after the game?”

“We’ll throw you a party if you win,” Lavender offered.

“Thanks,” Lily said once more, turning to head up the staircase. She still had the smile on her face, but this one felt more genuine. It _was_ rather nice of them to go to the bother, even if it wouldn’t actually pay off. She might even humor them with the party, assuming they did win it. The Slytherins had much better brooms, and Lily wasn’t sure if Ron would even manage to keep his seat. She made a mental note to have the twins watch out for him, just in case he slipped off of it.

Hermione was still laying in bed when Lily pushed the door open, although she was rubbing her eyes sleepily at this point. She’d clearly just woken up moments before Lily entered. She still looked a bit pale, but also a bit healthier than she had the last few days.

“Morning,” Lily hummed in an attempt to spread her good cheer. Merlin knew Hermione could use some.

“Morning,” Hermione grumbled, not sounding anywhere near as enthusiastic. She didn’t even bother opening her eyes to see who she was talking to. Lily was pretty sure she wouldn’t have gotten a response if she had.

Lily grabbed her broom, setting it gingerly on her mattress. Then, she tossed the trunk next to it and threw open the lid. She had to dig a bit to reach her Quidditch robes; they’d somehow ended up near the bottom, crammed under her assortment of textbooks. One of her quills was broken; she’d need to get that replaced.

“How are you feeling?” Lily asked. “You’ve been looking under the weather, lately.”

Hermione didn’t answer, but Lily didn’t mind. She was still trying to stay positive. It wouldn’t do to listen to the tiny voice that was screaming at the very back of her mind. _Happy thoughts only, please._

“You coming to the game?” Lily asked, trying again. She had to move her books out one by one so she could reach the robes.

“I didn’t leave the dorm last night, did I?” Hermione asked instead.

Lily frowned, looking over at the other girl. She was sitting up now, and her bushy-hair was even more of an untamed mess than usual. She was staring intently at Lily, and that made her breakfast tumble uncomfortably in her stomach, for whatever reason.

“Leave the room?” Lily repeated.

“Lavender and Parvati said I’ve been sleepwalking,” Hermione grumbled, forcing herself out of bed.

“Haven’t seen anything,” Lily answered, shaking her head as she got back to work. “Lav and Parvati said they’d throw me a party if we won. Do you want to join us?”

“Lav?” Hermione asked sleepily.

“Lav,” Lily repeated. She finally got her robes out. She sniffed them; they were a bit unwashed, but they’d do. Not like anybody would be able to smell her, anyway, since she’d be a hundred feet in the air. “You know, she lives with us?”

“Lavender?”

“That’s the one,” Lily confirmed, shutting her trunk shut again. She’d leave it on the mattress, for now. She had a brief moment of panic as she pat down her school robes, but then she remembered that Neville had the map during the last night, and he’d still have it now, during the morning.

Lily turned, intending to leave the room. She stopped when she saw the strange look Hermione was giving her.

“Since when do you call her Lav?” Hermione asked.

“Since she told me to,” Lily answered, returning the strange look. “She’d probably let you, too, if you asked her.”

“I didn’t realize you were friends,” Hermione said nervously.

“Yeah, well, _somebody_ has to like me, don’t they?” Lily answered, giving a fake smile. She proceeded towards the door, mad that she’d let the positive mindset leave, if only for a second.

“That’s not-“ Hermione started, leaning forward slightly and stretching out a hand. She stopped before making comment, snapping her own hand back in shame. “I’m sorry, Lily, I’m just tired.”

“Best get up, then,” Lily said, raising her eyebrows and opening the door. “Want to walk downstairs with me? I’ll wait for you in the common room.”

“I-“ Hermione started again, face lighting up for a second. Her eyes fluttered over to her trunk, and she looked slightly ashamed of herself. “No, you go on ahead, I’ll come down later.”

“If you’re sure, then,” Lily said, closing the door gently behind her. She almost expected Hermione to say yes there for a moment. Now she found herself feeling slightly disappointed. Her scar tingled just a tad as he made her way back through the common room, but she paid it no mind. It was nothing out of the ordinary, these days.

“Keep your head down, Lily,” Wood said sternly once the team was gathered and clothed in the changing rooms. “Slytherin hasn’t been after you, lately, but they’ll still want you out of the game. You’re our only real chance of winning this thing.”

“Thanks, Wood,” Katie grumbled.

Wood pointed a finger sharply at the Chaser. “Sorry, Katie, but its true. You’re all good, but we just can’t compete with their brooms. Lily and Ron are the only ones that have a chance, but two out of seven means bad odds. Just remember, Lily, you’re the best Seeker at Hogwarts. If you hadn’t been benched, we would have won the cup last year.”

“She wasn’t even on the bench,” Fred said. “She was kicked off the team, Oliver.”

Wood chose to ignore that, running a hand through his short hair nervously. “Ron, you stay near Alicia and Katie, run the Quaffle and pass to them for shots. You’re a good flyer, but you tend to let the ball slip. The Slytherins are too fast not to take advantage of that. They can catch it off of you, pass it back, just like they did in practice.”

Ron nodded wordlessly, his eyes gazing into the void, not seeing a thing around him. Lily hoped he’d perk up on the field.

“Fred, George,” Oliver continued.

“Oliver,” Fred and George said together, perking up and saluting their captain.

“You know what to do,” Oliver finished lamely. “We’re better players than they are. They might have the better brooms, but we can take advantage of our own strengths. Look out for one another, and let’s get out there and win this thing.”

Oliver led the way, his team still feeling miserable about their chances. Even Lily was a bit down, now, since Oliver pinned all his hopes on her. She didn’t like that one bit.

They entered the field to mixed cheers. Half the crowd was crying for Slytherin, the other half Gryffindor. The stands had a clear split between the red and gold and the green and silver. There were shades of blue and yellow mixed in with the halves as well, but they mostly waved banners for the team they were currently supporting. Lily was a bit offended that only half went to Gryffindor, considering the Heir of Slytherin thing. Of course, the paper was accusing _her_ of being the Heir, and most of Slytherin agreed with that analysis. It made sense, even if it also made her feel worse.

“Captains shake hands,” Madame Hooch, the yellow-eyed Quidditch referee, demanded as the two teams lined up from across each other. Malfoy smirked over at Lily, eyes flickering briefly to her broom as the smirk turned into a scowl. That put a smile back on Lily’s face; Malfoy must have thought she was lying about the broom.

Wood walked back to their line, flexing his right hand. He wore a scowl on his face. Hooch strode forward, unlatching a large, thick box. There were four slots, each with a different sized ball. Hooch released the two medium-sized bludgers first, and they soared off into the air, trying to find a target to knock off a broom. Lily was briefly worried that one was flying faster than the other, but she tried to push the idea out of her mind. Hooch released the small Golden Snitch next. It briefly flickered in front of Lily, and she took a step back in surprise. She blinked, and it was gone.

Hooch unlatched the large, red Quaffle last, tucking it under her arm. She mounted her broom, rising into the air, the Quidditch players following soon after. Lily was last into the air; one of the bludgers swerved after her while she was still on the ground, and she only narrowly managed to avoid it in time.

Both teams lined up in front of each other, red facing green. The crowd started to chant, excitement rising to a boil, as Lily tried to wipe her sweaty palms off on her robe. She didn’t even realize she’d forgotten her gloves until this moment, but she was sure missing them now.

“GO GO GRYFFINDOR, GO GO!”

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!”

“I want a good, clean game,” Hooch said loudly. “From each of you. On the count of three, the game will begin.”

“One.”

Lily glanced around, trying to spot the Snitch. If she could do that, she could end it quickly, and she wouldn’t even have to _worry_ about Ron screwing up.

“Two.”

A bludger hissed past Lily’s ear, and she rolled to avoid it just in the nick of time. She righted herself quickly, blushing as the Slytherins laughed.

“Three,” Hooch said, blowing the whistle and tossing the Quaffle into the air.

“The Quaffle has been released,” Lee Jordan, friend of Fred and George and fellow Gryffindor, said from the commentator’s box, his voice magically amplified so the entire stadium could hear.

Lily’s eyes flicked around quickly, searching again. She had to roll in place again to avoid another bludger, and the upside-down view didn’t make it any easier.

The Quaffle reached its peak, slowed, and fell back down. Katie flew forward quickly, being the starter, followed immediately after by Montague.

“AND THE GAME BEGINS!” Lee shouted. Lily flew off, swerving straight towards their side of the field as another bludger whizzed past her, a _hiss_ sounding off in her ear as she narrowly avoided it.

“Montague grabs the Quaffle, snatching it right out of Katie’s hand,” Jordan announced. Lily spared a moment to glance behind her, spotting the green blur flying close behind her. She was _sure_ Katie moved first, but the Gryffindor Chasers were trailing behind.

“Montague approaches Wood, HE SHOOTS, 10-0, Slytherin,” Jordan grumbled.

Lily rose into the air, missing another bludger, checking the sky above for the snitch. If it wasn’t above, she could at least get a better vantage point.

“Pucey scores, 20-0 Slytherin,” Jordan announced again. Lily glanced back down to the field. The game was barely 30 seconds in at this point, how did they score _twice_?

She turned back to her task, desperately searching around for the snitch. She saw Malfoy taking the opposite approach far below, taking the low areas and turning his head skywards to watch above. Lily thought that was _far_ less efficient. It was almost noon, the sun would be bearing directly into his eyes. She doubted he could even see _her_.

“Katie passes to Alicia, to Ron, back to Katie SHE SHOOTS, Bletchley blocks, passes it back to Montague.”

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!”

Lily drummed her fingers on her broom, turning aside to avoid another bludger, then dove into a feint, hoping to grab Malfoy’s attention away from his own search. She heard Gryffindor roar as she did so, and then spotted Malfoy swerve in her direction, eyes wildly shooting around.

“30-0, Slytherin,” Lee said. “Katie takes possession of the Quaffle, avoids a bludger with a rather graceful spin, good on that, Katie, passes to Alicia.”

She swiveled her head around, noticing Malfoy following her close behind. She faced forward just in time to narrowly duck as a bludger soared past her.

“Malfoy takes a bludger to the arm,” Lee announced more excitedly. “Too bad he didn’t fall off his broom, that would have been-“

“Jordan!” McGonagall interrupted.

“Sorry, Professor. Montague scores again, 40-0, Slytherin.”

Lily could hear loud boos from the Gryffindors, and she refocused. Although, she had to admit, knowing Malfoy took that bludger for following her made her feel _much_ better. She ducked to avoid another one.

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!”

“Pucey scores, 50-0, Slytherin, come on, Gryffindor, shape up! Can’t let those-”

“Mr. Jordan!”

Lily dove again, spotting gold near the Slytherin goalposts. The crowd roared again, and she could hear Montague shout something.

“POTTER HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH, GO POTTER GO!”

Lily stretched her hand out quickly, trying to grasp at the darting ball. She could _feel_ her fingertips connecting with metal.

“GO GO, GRYFFINDOR, GO GO!”

Lily heard a _woosh_ from behind, followed by a large _crack_ as something collided with her lower back. She whirled, legs slipping over her broom. She grasped at it with her hands, caught it with one, then slipped off, tumbling towards the ground.

“NOOOOO!” Jordan shouted, along with a collective groan from the Gryffindor stands.

Lily fell the few feet between her and the ground, landing roughly on her already sore back.

“Excellent bludger from the Slytherin Beaters,” Jordan admitted. “Almost had you, there. Come on, Lily, back at it, now.”

Lily opened her eyes, satisfied to see Malfoy hovering where the snitch had been, looking about wildly for it. At the very least, _he_ didn’t grab it. He sneered at her as he looked down.

“Better luck next time, Potter,” he said snidely, flying away to resume his search elsewhere.

“You alright, Lily?” George called from above, pulling to a stop nearby.

“M’fine,” Lily grumbled as she sat up, rubbing her back. She had to stumble over a meter to where her broom fell, but it at least wasn’t damaged. Another bludger whizzed past her head as she bent over to pick it up, and she heard a whistle come from Hooch.

“Penalty shot for Gryffindor,” Jordan said, “Don’t think nobody saw that bludger, Arbuckle. You might look like a troll, but there’s no need to _act_ like one.”

“Mr. Jordan!”

“Sorry, Professor, won’t happen again. Bell to take penalty for Gryffindor. Let’s hope her aim is as good as her looks.”

“Jordan!”

Lily took that chance to kick back off into the air, spotting Arbuckle, one of the Slytherin beaters, arguing madly with Madame Hooch. Hooch shook her head, then blew her whistle again, pointing over towards the Gryffindors. Katie flew forward to take the penalty shot.

“Katie flies forward, Quaffle in hand, SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES! 50-10, SLYTHERIN!”

“GO GO, GRYFFINDOR!”

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!”

_There_ , Lily thought, flying towards another flash of gold. She barely made it a meter before she had to duck under another bludger. When her head came back up, the gold was gone.

Another bludger came by, but Fred happened to be close, and he intercepted it, knocking it off towards Montague with a loud _smack_ of his bat.

“You alright, Lily?” he asked.

“60-10, Slytherin,” Lee announced.

Lily turned her head to answer Fred just in time to spot the bludger he smacked away swerve in midair, coming straight back towards her.

“Fred!” she shouted, pointing. Fred turned, raising his bat in defiance. He swung, but the bludger _sped up_ and collided straight through the thing, knocking into Fred’s arm with a sickening _crunch_. Fred started to slip, clutching his limb to his chest. The bludger kept moving forward, crashing into Lily’s chest. She fell from her broom again, falling a dozen feet to the ground below, as she struggled to breath. She could hear Gryffindor screaming above her.

“POTTER AND WEASLEY ARE BOTH DOWN!”

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!”

She let out a loud grunt as she crumpled onto the ground. She heard a set of brief whistles blowing, signifying a time out being called. She rolled over to stare at the sky, wondering if she had it in her to stand up. Her legs were already shaking uncontrollably, and she didn’t even have any weight on them. Fred landed carefully next to her, still cradling his arm. His face was torn up in pain, his bone jutting in a strange direction. It was almost enough to make Lily puke.

“Gryffindor calls a time out,” Lee said. “We’ll take a short break, and then we’ll be right back, folks, so don’t go anywhere.”

“You alright, Fred?” Lily asked, still laying on her back, staring up at the sky. Everything still hurt.

“No, I don’t bloody think so,” Fred groaned, kneeling down onto the ground.

“Fred!” George called out, landing next to his brother and putting an arm around him. “You alright, mate? Reckon I should go get Montague for you?”

“No,” Fred grumbled. “Well, yes, but not for this.”

“Nobody hit that bludger,” Lily said as the rest of the team landed around them. “It just turned, coming back for me.”

“You?” Wood asked. “You’re sure?”

“ _I’m_ sure,” Fred answered. “Damn thing nearly took my hand off to get to her. It’s faster than the other one, Wood, somethings wrong with it. Shouldn’t have been able to push _through_ my bat.”

“I saw it,” Lily confirmed from the ground. “It sped up right before he swung at it. Someone’s tampered with it.” She left her fears of assassination unsaid.

Hooch landed nearby, interrupting their group session. She strode over to Fred, gingerly taking his arm into her hands.

“Broken,” she said, tsking. “You’ll have to head up to the Hospital Wing, I’m taking you out of the match.”

“You can’t!” Fred argued. “We’ll be a player down!”

“Call is already made,” Hooch said, blowing on her whistle twice shortly, then one long.

“Fred Weasley is taken out of the game,” Lee said, not at all happy about it. “Gryffindor will be playing one man down.”

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!”

“Lousy snakes,” Lee mumbled into the mic. Slytherin answered with loud jeers and hisses.

“Jordan!”

“How about you, Potter?” Hooch asked. George was walking his brother off the field. Wood didn’t seem too happy about it, but they knew he’d be back soon enough. Fred wouldn’t let them _both_ go. Ron finally found his way over to the meeting, looking as if he wished _he_ was the one with the broken arm as he stared at his brothers.

“I can stand,” Lily said. She took in a sharp breath as she made the attempt, leaning onto the nearby shoulder of Katie for assistance. Hooch narrowed her eyes, inspecting Lily’s stance. Lily tried to stand _very_ still, and even took her arm off of Katie to seem more confident. She was pretty sure her ankle was twisted from the fall, and she could feel hot tears forming behind her eyes.

“Very well,” Hooch said at last, mounting her broom once more. “You may resume your meeting. You have five minutes.” She pushed off, leaving the Gryffindors alone. Lily sat back on the grass roughly in relief.

“What do we do, Oliver?” Katie asked. “Fred is gone, Lily can barely stand, and someone’s trying to kill her _again!_ ”

“Lily doesn’t need to stand to fly,” Wood said, crossing his arms as he thought. “And I don’t think anyone is trying to _kill_ her. The Bludgers have Cushioning Charms on them to-“

“So you’re just going to ignore what she said?” Katie said hotly. “Wood, didn’t you hear them? It sped up and _broke Fred’s bat._ Those aren’t supposed to snap, are they?”

“No,” Wood admitted, “But it happens, occasionally, if you catch a bludger at the wrong angle. Right, George?”

“Right,” George said breathlessly as he leaned over to catch his breath. “But that wasn’t what happened, Wood, I saw the whole thing. It _did_ speed up, right before he swung.”

Wood grimaced and swore under his breath. “Can you keep an eye on Lily? If she gets taken out, we can’t win.”

“Can’t,” George said sadly. “My broom isn’t fast enough, she’d have to slow down for me to keep up.”

“I’ll switch brooms with you,” Ron muttered.

“No,” Wood said firmly. “We need you playing Chaser, you’ll do us no good with George’s broom.”

“What do we do, then?” Katie repeated with her arms crossed firmly. Lily thought she looked a bit mutinous, but she appreciated the support. She didn’t like the idea of someone trying to kill her again, either.

“Lily,” Wood said after a long pause. “It’s up to you.”

“Pardon?” Lily asked, staring up at all of them. Katie swore and threw her hands up in defeat.

“Either you catch the Snitch quickly, or we lose,” Wood explained. “No pressure.”

“Right,” Lily agreed, trying to lie to herself. “No pressure. Got it.”

“Ron,” Wood said. “I’m putting you in center. Katie and Alicia fly better than you do, but you have the faster broom. Katie, Alicia, pass to him as often as you can. He’s our best chance of getting the Quaffle past Bletchley. Katie, you’ll keep taking the penalty shots, you haven’t missed one yet, but we’ll let Ron lead for now.”

“But-“ Katie started to argue.

“I can’t-“ Ron started to argue.

Wood held up his hand to cut them both off. Lily was impressed he could silence them so easily, but there _was_ a reason he was made captain. When he needed to, he could command authority better than any of the prefects could.

“If Angelina was here, it’d be different,” he said, “but we have to make do with what we have. Focus on keeping the Quaffle away from Slytherin as much as you can while Lily finds the Snitch. Do that, and we can win. _That’s_ our path to the cup.”

“I don’t know if I can avoid that bludger forever, Oliver,” Lily said, biting at her lip. She felt like she hadn’t done that in a while. “I’m only one bad hit away from Hooch sending me off, too.”

“All the more reason to hurry,” Wood said, staring up at Hooch and giving her a thumbs up. “Try to find some way to lose it, if you can. Maybe you can use it to our advantage. On the bright side, the rest of us have less to worry about with only one bludger on the field.”

Hooch blew her whistle, signaling for the teams to line up in the centerfield again. Lily wanted to argue about the “only one bludger” thing, but she was too busy trying to stand up before Hooch could notice how hurt she was. Katie offered her a hand, at least, and she took it gladly. Katie squeezed on it ever so briefly before letting go.

“Good luck, team. I know you can do it.” Wood saluted them all, then mounted his broom, the rest of Gryffindor following his lead.

Wood kicked off, flying back to his goal posts. Lily kicked off last, grumbling to herself. Her entire body was aching, and she was pretty sure that bludger cracked at least one rib, based off the rattling sensation and pain every time she took a breath. She joined the center last, taking a position at the end. Malfoy lined up across from her, sneering at her in contempt.

“I thought you were supposed to be _good_ at flying, Potter,” he said. “You’ve fallen _twice_ now.”

“And I’ve seen the Snitch twice, too,” Lily said, smiling at him. It wasn’t a very good smile; she was feeling a bit too miserable to pull it off. “Have to take risks to win. Not that you’ll ever know.”

Malfoy smirked at her again, and she had to agree with his confidence. If she couldn’t end it quickly, Slytherin wouldn’t even _need_ him to catch the Snitch for them to win the game. _No pressure,_ she thought to herself as she shot a glare down at Wood.

“Keep that up, and you’ll be joining your boyfriend in the Hospital Wing in no time. Maybe Pomfrey will give you side-by-side beds. You can have your wedding in there, too, if you want. Then you can sleep in his pig pen back at home.”

Lily was taken aback, and could feel her face getting hot.

“What are you-“

Hooch blew her whistle, tossed the Quaffle, and the game began anew. Malfoy flew off first, leaving Lily floating there, feeling silly and embarrassed.

“Colin,” she grumbled to herself. It always came back to him, didn’t it? She’d need to have a talk with her number one fan once he was finally unpetrified.

“Ron has the Quaffle,” Lee announced as Lily finally flew off, beginning her search. “He passes it to Katie, passes to Alicia, she avoids a tackle from Montague, OH, bludger to the arm, Quaffle grabbed by Ron.”

Lily spun, avoiding her own bludger. She turned her head, watching it turn around behind her to give chase again. She hoped Slytherin wouldn’t launch the other one at her; she had her hands full enough with just the one.

“Who’s doing it?” she muttered to herself, spinning again to avoid it. She didn’t have the time to scan the crowd. Ron wasn’t in the stands any more to search, either, and Lily had a feeling that Hermione wouldn’t be looking out for her.

“RON SCORES, 60-20!” Lee yelled out. Lily turned to watch Ron pump his fist in the air, barely turning around in time to dodge the bludger again. She could feel it graze her face, and her fingers nearly slipped as she went upside down, turning too far on accident. She righted herself quickly, feeling silly again as she noticed Malfoy pointing at her from across the field, laughing at her.

That gave her an idea. She dove towards the center of the field, hoping Malfoy would meet her in the center.

“POTTER DIVES!” Lee shouted. “GO, LILY, GO!”

“GO GO GRYFFINDOR, GO GO!”

Lily levelled, glancing up, spotting Malfoy flying straight towards her, eyes wide, desperately searching around for the Snitch. Lily smiled.

Then she flew up, rising at a sharp angle, flying straight over Malfoy. She locked eyes with him briefly, spotting his terror filled pupils. Then the bludger, following closely behind Lily, collided squarely into the center of his face.

Malfoy crumpled, hands flying towards his head, as he fell from his broom. Lily roared with laughter, clutching at her sides in satisfaction. The Slytherins jeered, the Gryffindors cheered, and Lee joined her in laughing.

“Excellent feint by Potter, well done, well done, serves that slug right!”

“Jordan!”

“Sorry, Professor, but I see that smile on your face. Hooch calls for a penalty as Montague walks Malfoy off the field. Looks like he’s out of the game, too.”

Lily glanced down, wiping a tear from her eye as she watched Malfoy’s huddled form walk of the field, Montague lazily pushing him along. Malfoy was still cradling his face. She supposed that was going to ruin any positive attention she was getting from the Slytherins, based off the way they were now jeering at her. Ah, well. It creeped her out, anyway.

“Well done, Lily,” Ron said, flying up alongside her, and throwing an arm around the girl. “Really, that was great, I needed that.”

“Thanks, Ron,” Lily agreed, feeling very satisfied. “Now I just have to find that Snitch.”

“Did you see my goal?” Ron asked excitedly. “Bletchley sure didn’t, sailed right past him.”

Hooch blew her whistle again, signaling Pucey to begin his penalty shot. Ron shot off to join the others, while Lily resumed her search; Seekers weren’t required to huddle around for a penalty shot, and could even theoretically end the game before a goal was made. Unfortunately, that bludger resumed the chase once the whistle blew, so she couldn’t find a good opening. Still, though, with Malfoy gone from the field, there was far less pressure on her.

“Wood blocks the shot,” Lee announced. “Excellent job, Oliver, I knew there was a reason we let you keep that badge. Now just do that again, but for every shot.”

Lily swerved over towards Pucey, who was carrying the Quaffle once more after intercepting a pass to Ron. She swerved at the last minute, running the bludger straight into Pucey’s broom. She heard a _snap_ from above, followed by a scream from Pucey as he fell to the field below.

“And Potter takes out another one!” Lee shouted, followed by cheers from Gryffindor. “I don’t know why that bludger keeps following her, but if she can weaponize it, I won’t complain. Nothing in the rules about a rogue bludger, either way. Pucey walks off the field, with no way to play. Shouldn’t make a difference, honestly, way he plays, Slytherin might be better off without him.”

“Jordan!”

“Sorry, Professor, but I just don’t see any teams scouting Pucey anytime soon. The only thing carrying him was his broom, and now that’s-“

“The game, Jordan.”

“Sorry, Professor.”

Slytherin booed, jeered, and screamed insults at Lily. She flew by the green and silver stands, smiling sweetly at them as she rolled to avoid the bludger again. One of them threw a pair of binoculars at her, but she avoided that, too. She was pretty sure it came from Pansy Parkinson. Still must be upset over the cake thing.

Lily _wondered_ why Hooch never said anything, although this new information certainly caused a lot more questions than it answered. Were players allowed to jinx bludgers ahead of time, so long as they didn’t do it midgame? Was _this_ why the Slytherins were so nice to her lately? And if there wasn’t a rule for it, why was Slytherin getting another penalty shot? Sure, she was using a bludger without being a Beater, but she never _hit_ it. That had to count for something.

Montague took the next penalty shot, but Wood managed to block it again. Lily focused on trying to run her bludger into the Slytherin players, instead of focusing on the Snitch. It seemed to scare most of them; they were more distracted by keeping an eye out for her than they were anything else. George managed to capitalize on their distraction, knocking one of the Slytherin beaters silly with the only functioning bludger. That brought both teams down a Beater, but Gryffindor still had all Chasers and their Seeker.

Montague tried to tackle into Lily, but he only got a bludger to his shoulder for the attempt. Hooch blew her whistle anyway, causing yet another halt to the match. Lily was worried she’d get blamed for that one, even though it wasn’t her fault like the last two.

“Penalty to Slytherin for interference,” Lee announced, Slytherin hissing in the background. Lily breathed out a sigh of relief, swerving to avoid her personal attacker again. “Katie takes the shot, come on, Katie, COME ON, SHE SCORES! 60-30, GRYFFINDOR!”

With the match clearly leaning into Gryffindor’s favor now, they scored three times in a row, two by Ron and one by Katie, bringing the score up to 60-60, tying it. Lily saw the Snitch twice more during this time, but couldn’t focus on it. The bludger was moving much faster now, if that was even possible, and she had to divert almost all her attention to avoiding it. She thought she much look rather silly, flying like this, but she could stand the teasing that would come later, so long as she was still alive.

“Weasley flies ahead again, go go, Weasley, and- OH and knocked off his seat by Montague, that eel, took the bat off his Beater again. Should be hearing that penalty whistle any moment now.”

Lily swerved to the right, still searching for gold, trying to listen in on how the game was going.

“Guess Madame Hooch went blind for a moment, but that’s okay, Montague scores, 70-60, Slytherin.”

“WIN WIN, SLYTHERIN!” the crowd below cheered.

Lily frowned, noticing Madame Hooch scratching at her head in confusion. Wood signaled for a time out, but she didn’t seem to notice _that_ either, and play resumed, Montague quickly sinking in another goal, bringing the game to 80-60.

“120-70, Slytherin’s favor,” Lee grumbled ten minutes later.

The crowd was getting restless, one half screaming for Gryffindor constantly, the other half screaming for Slytherin. Montague kept making odd plays, running blatant interference, and otherwise being a Neanderthal, but Hooch never called a penalty on him. She _did_ once call a penalty on George trying to do the same, letting Montague bring the score up to 130-70.

Lily started biting her lip again, forcing herself to stop as she rolled again. She’d bite it clean off if that bludger hit her while she was doing it. She needed something to change, she just needed to find that Snitch, but she hadn’t seen it in-

“Katie snatches the Quaffle from Montague, throws it towards BLETCHLEY, COME ON, SHE SCORES!”

Lily dove, twirling as she did so, barely hanging on to her broom. The bludger rushed past her, and then turned, causing her to swerve again. She halted in midair, ducking to let it soar past her, then reversed, turning to fly the other direction.

“GRYFFINDOR SCORES!” Lee roared. “KATIE BELL SCORES AGAIN, FOLKS, LOVE THAT GIRL!”

“KATIE! KATIE! KATIE!” the Gryffindors cheered. Lily cheered with them under her breath. She rolled, turning into a somersault, flying towards Wood on the other end of the field. She swerved past him, praying Hooch wouldn’t notice the foul. She heard Wood swear loudly as he avoided her bludger, but there was really nowhere else for her to go at that particular moment. She hoped he’d be able to forgive her later.

“UNBELIEVABLE! RON SCORES AGAIN! 130-100!”

“RON! RON! RON!”

Lily turned to watch her friend soak in the cheer, raising her own fist into the air to cheer along with them, smiling-

She dove quickly, spotting gold near the Slytherin posts. She could hear the bludger whizzing behind her, and she prayed again, this time for her broom to out speed the thing for just a little longer.

“MONTAGUE SCORES, BUT WHO CARES, POTTER HAS FOUND THE SNITCH, GO POTTER, GO GO GO!”

“LILY! LILY! LILY!”

Lily rolled to avoid the bludger, swerved, stretched out her hand, grasped, grasped, and then touched metal. She lurched forward, almost sliding off her broom, hand closing around the cool metal.

“LOVELY LILY HAS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS, 250-130!”

“LILY! LILY!”

Lily rose her fist, grinning broadly. She did it, she _won-_

_Crunch!_

Lily spun off her broom, falling 30 feet, collided with the pole, then slid to the ground, crowd screaming in her agony. Lily landed face first with a sharp intake of breath.

Lily tried to lift her head up, tried to push off the ground, but she found she couldn’t move. Her neck was searing in pain, but she couldn’t feel anything below that.

“Lily!” Ron shouted as he landed next to her. He jammed his fingers on her neck, trying to feel for a pulse.

“Don’t!” Lily moaned out, causing the ginger boy to flinch from surprise. “Broke. Neck.”

“Oh, Merlin,” she heard Katie say from nearby. “Oh, sweet Merlin, what do we do?”

“Somebody get Pomfrey!” Wood called out. “Don’t touch her, don’t move her.”

“POMFREY,” McGonagall called from the stands, voice amplified to carry to the castle. It almost hurt Lily’s ears, and she could feel the ground shake beneath her. “YOU ARE NEEDED AT THE QUIDDITCH PITCH IMMEDIATELY!”

“Should we roll her over?” Ron asked nervously, still crouching down next to Lily’s prone form.

“No,” Wood said quickly, “We’re not supposed to move her at all, I’m in Pomfrey’s Healer elective, we’re not supposed to move a neck or back injury until a professional arrives.”

“Not to fear,” Lily heard a voice say. “Not to fear, I can fix it in a jiffy.”

“No,” Lily croaked out as the smiling, handsome visage of Gilderoy Lockhart came into her view. “No. Pomfrey.”

“Poor girl,” Lockhart said, flashing a smile to the bystanders. “Doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Don’t worry, Lily, I’ll have you fixed up in a second, no need to wait.”  
“LOCKHART,” McGonagall shouted from the stands, “YOU GET AWAY FROM THAT GIRL THIS INSTANT!”

Lockhart cleared his throat, wand aimed at Lily’s neck. Lily closed her eyes, fearing the worst. She started muttering another prayer, hoping that _somebody_ out there was listening to her.

“ _Brackium Emendo,_ ” Lockhart chanted.

Lily felt her throat collapse, cutting off her words. Her eyes shot open, and she tried to breath, but it only came in ragged gasps. Her eyes widened in fear, shooting rapidly at those standing around her. Ron was staring in equal parts horror and disgust, while Katie had her hands clamped around her mouth in terror.

“Merlin,” Ron said in a high-pitched voice, “You’ve _killed_ her.”

“Hmmm,” Lockhart hummed thoughtfully as Lily’s vision turned to black.


	20. A Pain in the Neck

Lily woke up in a bright, white room, laying in soft, white mattress. She had to squint from the bright light, which ruined her chances of seeing her other surroundings. Her head was spinning and thick, as if she’d just woken from a very long, very deep, sleep. Her first thought was that she must surely be dead, and this must surely be heaven. But when she tried to move, to get up and _explore_ this afterlife, she realized that she wasn’t dead, after all.

She was back in St. Mungo’s, judging by the sterile, white walls around her. There was another empty mattress on the other side of the room that she could see from the corner of her eye. She would have like to get a better view, but the brace around her neck prevented any turning. She couldn’t move anything below her neck, or even that. All she could do was sit still and blink. Any attempts at vocalization came out in quiet, muffled grunts. Her throat felt very strange, as if there was no support to it. It was a bit hard to breath, but at least she _could_.

She tried calling out again, resulting in a rather loud grunt. She heard some rustling from outside these bland, bright walls, and the door opened soon after, Dumbledore waltzing in with his bright, purple robes and bright, purple hat. His long, white beard flowed down past his chest and matched the walls of the hospital room quite nicely. Lily never felt happier to see him, to see anybody, in her entire life.

“Hello, Lily,” he hummed as he sat in a nearby chair. She was pretty sure he made it himself, based off the way he waved his hand, but she couldn’t be sure. “It is good to see you awake. Do you remember what happened?”

Lily grunted in a vague representation of the word “Lockhart.” His face was the last thing she could remember before everything went dark. That, and Ron’s fear about her death, which, now that it was past, she could admit that she _thoroughly_ shared at the time.

Dumbledore chuckled. “Yes, Lily, Lockhart is indeed the reason you are here. You will be happy, no doubt, to hear that he is now on probation. I was going to sack him, but the governors and the press intervened on his behalf. It is their belief that the school is better off with the most famous wizard in the world as a member of its staff, given our present circumstances. I am afraid I was thoroughly outvoted on the matter. Had I forced the matter, I would have been removed from my post, and Hogwarts would be much worse off.”

Lily grunted again, longer this time, followed by a shorter grunt of frustration. She didn’t like not being able to form words.

“No, Lily, I do not think he shall be returning next year, do not worry. In the meantime, I do have to ask you to _try_ and get along with him, if you feel it in your heart. I argued on the behalf of removing you from his class, but the Governors refused to hear the matter. I’m afraid they’ve inclined to use their emergency powers to take control. Not that I can blame them, of course.”

Lily blinked in surprise. She didn’t expect the headmaster to actually understand what she was trying to ask. Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled as he watched Lily, a slight smile on his lips. Lily grunted again, to test the waters.

“No thanks necessary, Lily. To be completely honest with you, we’re lucky he wasn’t _completely_ incompetent. He managed to vanish your spine, unfortunately, but _fortunately_ he did not manage to vanish your nerves. If he had, you would not be sitting here in front of me now, and Lockhart would probably be imprisoned in Azkaban, despite his best efforts to counter any punishment. He almost ruined our fifty-year streak.”

_Fifty-year streak?_ Lily grunted a question.

“I apologize, Lily, but I cannot explain that right now. Not for student ears, I’m afraid. I am sure you will find the answer on your own, of course, but I believe I shall leave it a mystery for the moment.”

Lily grunted a different question instead. She knew better. She was _learning_.

“Pomfrey managed to get your airway cleared for you to breath,” Dumbledore explained patiently. “With her help, we managed to transport you here to St. Mungo’s. She didn’t have the necessary equipment to treat you at Hogwarts, unfortunately. And on that subject, you will no doubt be shocked that it is not _Thursday_ , not Saturday.”

Lily grunted in shock and surprise.

“Yes, Lily, I’m afraid I am not joking. You have been asleep for nearly five days. The Healers were beginning to worry you wouldn’t wake until the Holidays. Speaking of the Holidays, I was asked to enquire if you shall be staying at Hogwarts for their duration. And, yes, you will be up and moving by them, we are told.”

Lily grunted a confirmation.

“I shall let McGonagall know you wish to spend Christmas at home, then. Molly will be delighted to hear so; she’s been dreadfully afraid for you, these past few days. She’s spent all day every day at your side. She’s gone now, yes, but only because visiting hours are over. She will be back tomorrow.”

Lily grunted another question.

“I, Lily, am here under special circumstances. As both the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and your guardian, I am not strictly limited to the normal visiting hours. It helps that I am owed a few favours by the Head Healer, of course.”

Lily grunted a different question.

“You should be able to return to Hogwarts a week before the Holidays. You will miss quite a few lessons, I’m afraid, but Minerva and Filius have both promised to dedicate some time to catching you back up. Severus offered, as well, but he has his own duties to attend to.”

Lily grunted.

“I know you would not mind, Lily, but Professor Snape is a very busy man. I have asked him to investigate something for me personally, and he simply won’t have the time to help you with your Potions work. Do not worry, though. Minerva achieved perfect scores on both her OWLs and her NEWTs for Potions, and she will have no trouble assisting you.”

Lily grunted another question.

“I can sit here for a while longer, yes, Lily. Growing a new spine is, apparently, less difficult than healing blindness, although it certainly takes a lot longer. We shall not be interrupted. I can grant you a few more minutes. I would stay longer, but I have a meeting with the governors back at the school that I cannot miss. Augusta was certainly _not_ pleased with your injury, and they will be implementing a few more policies, despite the protests of the staff.”

Dumbledore looked tired as he shared that information, as though the burden of his many years was finally weighing on him. He tried to perk up quickly, noticing Lily’s glum expression.

Lily grunted in fear.

“Do not worry, Lily, you shall still be on the Quidditch team, if you wish. I managed to talk them out of disqualifying second years from participation, although I had to compromise on a few other matters to do so.”

Lily grunted more calmly.

“They will want more parental authority over the Quidditch teams, of course. For starters, they are insisting that parental permission is required to join any team, and may rescind their permission at any time. The Weasleys have already given full permission for each of you, although I could have given you mine if they hadn’t.”

Lily grunted another question.

“They want full discretion over whether or not a student is suspended or expelled, I’m afraid. Previously, it was a matter entirely up to the Headmaster. But, under their emergency powers, it is now theirs until the summer.”

Lily grunted.

“I’m afraid I cannot say what else they have in store. Not before they are officially announced. My hands are tied on that matter.”

Lily grunted something else.

“Your broom is safe and sound, sitting in your dorm room waiting for you. Miss Granger carried it up for you. She was quite upset about your predicament, as we all were. You’ll be _very_ popular once you return. Gryffindor celebrated all day, once they were told you would be fine.”

Lily grunted in disappointment.

“Now, now, Lily, there is no need to be so harsh on the girl. I believe she has been missing you _far_ more than you have been missing her. From what I have been told from the staff and the portraits, she has been wandering around aimlessly without you.”

Lily grunted sadly.

“Perhaps it is time to try again, then. I do not believe an apology will be necessary. Only your forgiveness. As I said, she was more distraught than anybody at your situation.”

Lily grunted.

“Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Weasley are safe and sound, yes, and they are eagerly awaiting your return as well. As are, I am told, Miss Brown and Miss Patil. All of the Quidditch team are anxious, as a matter of fact. Miss Bell demanded I take her with me to see you just today, as it so happens. I apologize, but I had to turn her down. She has her own studies to attend to.”

Lily grunted happily.

“At the advice of Severus, I am told to inform you that the Slytherins will no longer be quite as receptive of you as they were the week before your injury. They blame you for their crushing defeat. You and that bludger of yours.”

Lily grunted in a panic.

“I do not know what happened with that bludger, no. It seems it was tampered with, but it was not a magical signature that I recognize. I can ensure you it was not anybody in the student body, nor the faculty, although I am sure that is of little comfort.”

Lily grunted in a _further_ panic.

“I do not believe that it could have been Quirrell, no, although I have not completely disregarded the theory. I shall admit, that was my first thought as well. But, dare I say, if it _had_ been him, the trap would have been far more dangerous. No, I believe it is the work of an outsider, somebody who didn’t know what they were doing, and somebody that did not expect an injury of this severity to occur.”

Lily grunted nervously.

“I am told you will make a full recovery, yes. Rest assured, the Healers of St. Mungo’s state, with utmost confidence, that you shall be completely normal by the time you return to school.”

Lily grunted another question, remembering something else about the game.

Dumbledore smiled. “Yes, you were not the only one who noticed Madame Hooch acting strangely during the match. Do not worry; an investigation is underway. We shall uncover the truth soon enough.”

Lily grunted again.

“I’m afraid, Lily, that I cannot answer that question, either. Until the investigation is completed, I will not offer my belief on the matter. And with that, I am afraid I am out of time.”

Lily grunted sadly as Dumbledore stood.

“I apologize again, Lily, but I cannot stay. I was meant to be on my way, earlier, when I heard you call out. I shall see you again once you return to school. McGonagall will be escorting you back to the premises. She will be meeting you at Hogsmeade. The Weasleys will escort you there, then leave you in her care. Good night, Lily. Rest well.”

Lily grunted another question as the headmaster left, trying to get him to come back, or at least respond. He walked out instead. She only wanted to ask what he was doing here in the first place; it didn’t occur to her to ask until it was too late. A Healer came in immediately following the headmaster, and she soon had a sleeping draught forced down her throat. She was in no position to refuse, considering she couldn’t even move. Still, though, as she slipped into a sleep, she thought about how much she was thoroughly sick of sleeping.

Lily awoke hours later, squinting into the bright light. She heard a repetitive clicking noise coming from her side. Flicking her eyes over, she saw Mrs. Weasley sitting there, knitting and humming a tune to herself. Lily grunted to grab her attention, and the woman jumped from the sudden fright, which brought a smile to Lily’s lips.

“Oh, Lily, dear,” she said, holding a hand up to her chest, “you startled me. Didn’t know you were awake yet.”

Lily grunted again. Her throat felt very raw. Her throat was feeling far more firm, now, but it was also _very_ dry, as was her mouth. It hurt a bit to even breath through it.

“The Healers said you should be able to talk now, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, leaning over and raising a glass of water to Lily’s mouth. Lily drank eagerly, savoring the taste. Water never tasted better than after waking up after several days sleeping. She could testify to that from experience.

“Thanks,” Lily whispered hoarsely. That was the best she could do for the moment. It still hurt to talk, but the glass of water was empty.

Mrs. Weasley smiled brightly, setting the cup back down on the table. She was wearing a large, knitted sweater, adorned with all sorts of objects and symbols and colors. Lily had no idea what to think of it. She was knitting another sweater, as well, this one maroon.

“Christmas. Sweater?” Lily asked. She took a wild guess, and assumed it was Ron’s. He wouldn’t be happy about getting maroon again.

“Yes, dear,” Mrs. Weasley confirmed, knitting away. “This one will be Ron’s. I heard from Percy that he’s grown another half a foot. I’ll have to start over on yours.”

“Why?’ Lily asked in a grunt.

“I assumed you wouldn’t have grown much over the term, girl’s usually stop before boys. I was wrong, though, I think you’re taller than _me_. You’ve grown quite a bit.”

Lily didn’t _feel_ like she’d grown much, although her robes were certainly tighter around the chest. Her ankles weren’t even showing under her robes, although she _did_ buy longer ones this year in the hope that she wouldn’t need to next year. Come to think of it, she hadn’t noticed them dragging on the ground behind her in a while. She made a mental note to check first chance she got, knowing full well she’d never remember.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked, knitting away. Lily was impressed by how quickly the sweater was taking shape; Aunt Petunia tried to teach her years ago so she wouldn’t have to do it herself, and all of Lily’s attempts not only took ages but also looked abominable. She briefly considered asking for new lessons, but she didn’t think she could take the tedium. She had better things to do. Besides, she was really missing drawing and writing, and was looking forward to getting back to them.

“Nothing,” she grunted out at last. She didn’t want the Weasleys to burden themselves by trying to get her a gift. If she wanted something, she’d just get it herself. There was _something_ she wanted, truth be told, but she’d never be able to bring a dog to Hogwarts, and she didn’t want the Weasleys to have to take care of one on her behalf. Besides, the thought just brought her mind back to the Dursleys. She asked for one when she was five, and they locked her in her cupboard for a month. She never asked for anything else, after that.

“We’ll find something ourselves, then,” Mrs. Weasley said without any hesitation. “Perhaps I’ll make you an extra batch of fudge.”

“What. You. Want?” Lily asked.

“You don’t have to get us anything, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said with another pat on the hand. “We’re just happy to have you.”

“Others?” Lily asked, hoping that’d get the point across.

“If you’d like to pick something up for the kids, you’re welcome to leave a list with me, and Arthur and I’ll pick them up for you when we do our own shopping,” she offered.

“Mail. Order.” Lily said instead. She didn’t want the Weasleys to balk at how much she was willing to spend on them. She already had a vague idea for Ginny, and she was sure that’d get a reaction. Come to think of it, she could probably just do the same for the twins, and Katie really needed one, too. It was Ron that would be the difficult one. Him and Neville.

“Well, if you insist, I’ll just let you know what Arthur and I are getting the others, so you can get them something to go with it. Ginny’s been asking for a journal, and we’ve already found one for her. Fred and George, we’ll get them another Potion’s Kit, we don’t know how they go through them so quickly. Percy will be getting a new frame for his glasses, he got his old ones from his father, and they’ve been out of date for _years_. Ron will be getting something Chudley Cannon related, I’m sure, it’s all the lad seems to want. Bill and Charlie you don’t have to worry about, you haven’t met them and they won’t be back this year.”

“Arthur?” Lily choked out. She didn’t like to use their first names, but it was easier than trying to say “Mr. Weasley” in her current state.

Mrs. Weasley leaned over, lowering her voice. “Now, don’t you go worrying about him, none, but if you insist, he’d _love_ a set of those pens you gave him over the summer. He can’t figure out how to refill the ink in the one he already has. Spilled it all over the place the one time he tried. I had to threaten to throw it away.”

“Thanks.” Lily said. That sounded absolutely perfect. She didn’t know how to order muggle pens over an owl, of course, but that was a problem for a different day, for a future Lily.

Lily spent the whole day chatting with Mrs. Weasley, although she would have used the word loosely. Mrs. Weasley did most of the work, gabbing on and on while she finished up Ron’s sweater. Lily was trying to decide whether it was better to let the lad know ahead of time or to just have him be disappointed come Christmas.

After she was gone, a Healer arrived once more, with a new sleeping draught for Lily. She didn’t argue; it was not like she could move to refuse it, anyway. Down the gullet it went.

Mrs. Weasley was back the next day as well, this time working on a sweater for her husband. She said she refused to work on Lily’s while in her presence; she’d be working on that while at home, where Lily couldn’t see it. She didn’t know why

Mr. Weasley joined her on Saturday, which was also the first day Lily had any feeling below the neck. She could now wiggle her fingers! It took an immense amount of effort to do so, of course, but the Healers seemed very pleased about it. A younger, female one informed her secretly afterwards that there was actually a risk that she wouldn’t recover, but now that she was moving again, the risk was fully gone. That only made Lily feel worse, but she put on a fake smile anyway. She didn’t like to think about how close she came to a permanent, grievous injury at the hands of Gilderoy Lockhart. She wondered if she’d get in trouble if she just skipped all his classes.

Both parents arrived again the following day, bringing with them some sweets for Lily to enjoy. They’d already sent their Hogwarts children fudge to tide them over to the Holidays, but Lily got the special pleasure of receiving hers in-person. They had to feed them to her, of course, since she still didn’t have the mobility to do so herself, but she greatly appreciated the effort.

It was the best fudge she’d ever had. It was also, of course, the _first_ fudge she’d ever had. She let Ron eat hers last year, and the Dursleys had certainly never given her any. It was only at that moment where she realized how badly she’d been missing out. Fudge quickly became one of her favorite things in the world, and Mrs. Weasley brought her a second batch the next day after arriving several hours late, an action that made Lily cry from thankfulness.

“Don’t tell the others,” she whispered with a wink. “I made it special for you just this morning, dear. Sorry it made me late, I had to wait for Arthur to leave for work. Didn’t want him picking at it.”

Lily was perfectly willing to forgive her, since she was brought the wonderous, momentous gift of sweet, sweet heaven. She didn’t have the strength in her hands to wipe away her own tears, but Mrs. Weasley dabbed at them with a handkerchief.

On Tuesday, Lily had full feeling in her toes, and could now lift her arms with great, tiring effort. The Healers switched her over to a routine of Strengthening Solutions at that point, to help her build up her movements faster. It would still take almost two weeks to recover, but she was glad to be moving at all, even if just a few seconds left her sweaty and exhausted.

On the evening of December 14th, 5 days before they’d be returning to home for the Holidays, Lily was finally given the all clear to leave the hospital. With a heavy heart (and a package of fudge tucked away in her school robes), Lily walked down the stairs for the first time in weeks with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Her legs were still a bit shaky, and she had to keep her hand on the railing, but she made it down, fully unassisted.

“How are we getting to Hogsmeade?” Lily panted as they reached the ground floor, smiling widely. She had no idea how she’d manage the Hogwarts stairs, but it felt _good_ to be moving again.

“Apparition,” Mrs. Weasley said, holding onto Lily’s hand. She didn’t mind, although she could picture Ginny trying to pull away. “Arthur will be taking you, and I’ll pop in right after.”

“I thought you didn’t like taking side-alongs?” she asked.

“I don’t,” he admitted, “But it’s easier than the Floo in this case. Just make sure you turn with me; I don’t want to splinch you.”

“Splinch?” Lily asked, confused. She never heard the term before now.

“It’s when you leave a part of yourself behind,” he explained. “Terrible business. We have a whole sub department for dealing with it.”

“That’s awful!” Lily said, horrified. Her belly tightened from the nerves; she was now _far_ more terrified of apparition than she ever had been before. She couldn’t help but picture leaving herself in several pieces, laying in a horrible, gelatinous mess.

“If you’re ready, we’ll go now,” Mr. Weasley said, coming to a stop in the middle of the Floo hallway.

“Here?” Lily asked nervously, eyes flitting around. People were coming in and out of the fireplaces, but nobody was apparating in. There _were_ a few people going _out_ , so Lily assumed it was at least allowed to leave that way. That made her feel a little better, although she still swallowed nervously before accepting Mr. Weasley’s hand.

Mrs. Weasley gave her hand a squeeze for reassurance, then let go. Lily glanced over, biting her lip on instinct, and the matriarch gave her a reassuring smile.

“Remember, turn when I do,” Mr. Weasley reiterated. He started turning, and Lily followed with him, squeezing her eyes shut as something tugged at her navel.

There was a sudden chill, and Lily could feel a frigid breeze pass through her body. She shivered from the cold, letting go of Mr. Weasley’s hand so she could warm herself. There was an immediate chill on her legs, and she closed them tightly together to maintain as much warmth as possible.

“See? No problem.”

Lily opened her eyes, taking in the familiar sights of Hogsmeade. The was a spackling of snow on the ground, perhaps even a full foot of it, as well as more falling from the sky above. Lily could see fires through the windows of various businesses and home, and her breath arced in front of her in a misty haze. Villagers bustled about, running their errands and doing their shopping, with their scarves pulled tight and their robes pulled tighter.

Lily wished she had her own; the best she could do was hold her arms around her chest for warmth. Nobody thought to bring her a scarf before they left the hospital. The sun was well past set at this point, which only served to make it even colder. Lily found herself shivering uncontrollably within seconds.

“L-l-lovely w-weather,” she managed, teeth clattering against each other. Mr. Weasley frowned at that as a _pop_ occurred nearby, Mrs. Weasley quickly striding over to where the other two were standing.

“Let’s get you off to Hogwarts before you freeze to death, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, taking Lily by the hand and pulling along. Lily wasn’t going to argue with that, either. She didn’t have gloves, and was very appreciative of the warmth.

“We should have brought you a scarf,” Arthur acknowledged. “Sorry, Lily, it didn’t even occur to us.”

“N-n-n-not a p-p-problem a-at all,” Lily stuttered out. “I-i-it’s not t- _that_ cold.”

She tucked her free hand into her armpit, trying to get any sort of warmth on her cold, dead fingertips. They found Professor McGonagall waiting for them soon enough, standing in front of a large pub with a rather voluptuous blonde woman that Lily couldn’t help but stare at.

“Good evening, Lily,” McGonagall said as they approached. Lily swallowed from her nerves.

“H-hello, P-p-professor,” Lily said, managing to take her eyes off the other woman. The Gryffindor matriarch looked stern and unhappy in her dark green robe and hat. It suddenly came to Lily that McGonagall only ever wore green. She thought about asking why, but that’d probably just get some points deducted.

“Well, Rosmerta, I’m afraid I must leave you now,” McGonagall said, shaking hands with the blonde woman.

“I’ll see you next week, then?” Rosmerta said sweetly.

“If I can get away,” McGonagall said. “I’m afraid the staff are about to find ourselves _very_ busy. Come, Lily, we must get back to Hogwarts.”

“You be good, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, pulling Lily into a tight hug. Lily returned it eagerly. “Don’t get yourself hurt again. We’d hate to see you repeat a year if you miss any more school. A few more days, and then you’ll be home for Christmas. Feel free to write us if you need to, you know we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”

“Molly,” Arthur said uncomfortably, clearing his throat. “Lily needs to get back to the castle, darling.”

“Of course,” Molly answered, finally breaking the hug. She gave Lily a broad smile, wiping at her eyes with a free hand. Lily didn’t know how to feel about that. She felt both immensely happy and terribly sad. She settled on giving out a smile, thinking that would make Molly the happiest.

“Come along, Lily,” McGonagall said as she began walking off, dark green robe trailing in the snow behind her.

“See you soon, Lily,” Molly said once more with a final squeeze on Lily’s cheek. Lily realized she reached _up_ , and, after a quick glance, confirmed that she was, indeed, taller than Mrs. Weasley by a few inches. She wondered when that happened. Lily hurried after the professor, feeling equally embarrassed, happy, and sad.

“Welcome back, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said happily as she trotted beside her. Lily shivered again, now that she no longer had the warmth of the Weasley matriarch pressing against her. “You have missed quite a bit, and I need to inform you of a few new policies.”

“R-r-right, P-professor,” Lily responded, nodding her head vigorously. The movement made her feel a bit warmer, although that was ruined by a cold breeze nearly freezing her ears solid.

“Would you like some assistance, Potter?” McGonagall asked.

“P-p-p-p-pardon, Professor?”

McGonagall smiled down at Lily, and Lily suddenly realized how much taller the professor was. Lily barely came up to her shoulders.

“I can make you less cold, Potter,” McGonagall explained. “We have a bit of a walk ahead of us, and I’d prefer it if you did not freeze to death before we return to the castle.”

“P-p-p-please,” Lily managed, vigorously nodding her head again. She could feel her legs shaking now, too, although she wasn’t sure if that was the exertion or the cold. It could also be both, of course, since it felt a lot worse than it had in the hospital.

“ _Tepium Tunica_ ,” McGonagall incanted, waving her wand in a wide, circular arc over Lily’s head.

Lily felt wonderful warmth layer over her, as if she was wearing several coats in front of a large fire. It took a few seconds for the shivering to stop, but she was equally pleased by how toasty she felt in such a short amount of time.

“Thanks, Professor,” Lily said gratefully. “Why does it get so _cold_ around here?”

“It’s the magical power of Hogwarts,” McGonagall explained. “It causes the temperature and weather to be far more harsh than other areas. During the summer, the castle is sweltering.”

Lily wondered if that was why term ended a full month before the Muggles would get off. At least it gave them a longer break, if nothing else. She was already looking forward to the next one, despite missing so many classes, for one particular reason.

“Do I still have to go to his classes, Professor?” Lily grumbled. She hoped the _who_ could go unsaid.

“Yes, Potter, you must still attend Professor Lockhart’s classes. I believe Professor Dumbledore already explained that to you.”

Lily grumbled as confirmation. The trail to the castle was _awful_ dark. Their only light source was a lantern McGonagall carried on her left side, Lily standing on her right.

“Now, then, the policy changes,” McGonagall said, clearing her throat as she got back on topic. “I believe Professor Dumbledore already informed you of the changes to Quidditch. In addition to those, the Governors are instituting a formal process of parental supervision in their student’s education.”

“Professor?” Lily asked, not really getting any of that.

“For instance,” McGonagall continued, “We will be having a meeting next year, with you and your guardians, in order to settle on which electives you will be taking in your third year. As well, you will have a further _two_ meetings the next year, to make sure you are satisfied with your choice in electives and to get you on the right track if you aren’t.”

Lily nodded in understanding. McGonagall nodded in return, then continued on.

“In addition to the monthly reports on behavior, we will henceforth be including reports on your marks, as well. The Governors are under the impression that too many students are getting away with low marks due to simply hiding the truth. Professor Dumbledore believes that particular failure is on the onus of the parents themselves, and I happen to agree, of course, but going forward, all guardians will know about each and every grade you receive here at Hogwarts.”

“Dumbledore already knows everything _I_ do,” Lily grumbled. She swore under breath as she stubbed her toe on a rock that was buried under the mounds of snow littering their path. She barely managed to keep her balance.

“ _Professor_ Dumbledore will be forwarding your reports to the Weasleys, just as he has for each previous one,” McGonagall noted. “Lastly, all clubs and organizations a student joins much first be approved by both their head of house _and_ their guardians.”

“Why do we need approval for _clubs_?” Lily complained. Not that she needed it, since she stopped going to Ancient Runes Club. She hoped Luna would still be able to go, she seemed to genuinely enjoy it.

McGonagall scoffed. “I agree with you, Potter, but the Governors voted unanimously on _all_ of these issues.”

“You don’t sound very happy about this, Professor,” Lily noted.

“I am _not_ happy about it, Miss Potter, no,” McGonagall admitted. “But it is not for a student to worry about the feelings of their professors. What is most important is that you all are safe and properly educated.”

“What about the Chamber of Secrets, Professor?” Lily asked. “Has anyone been attacked since I left?”

“No, thank Merlin,” McGonagall said in a rare humanizing moment. Lily smirked at the swear, but McGonagall didn’t even seem to notice it. “And as to the Chamber of Secrets, you do not need to worry about it. It does not exist.”

“Professor,” Lily said quietly, wondering if she should even admit this, but taking the chance anyway, “I heard you all in the Hospital wing, when Colin was attacked. Dumbledore said the Chamber has been opened once before.”

McGonagall pursed her lips. “Miss Potter, I believe you have already received a lecture on the sins of eavesdropping.”

“Professor, if there’s a monster attacking the students, we should know,” Lily said, crossing her arms in defiance.

“I cannot speak to you on this matter, Potter,” McGonagall said firmly. “Professor Dumbledore has forbidden any of the staff from discussing matters regarding the Chamber of Secrets.”

“Dumbledore already told me about what happened last time,” Lily lied.

“Nice try, Potter,” McGonagall retorted, “But I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re lucky we’re not yet on the grounds, or I would deduct points for attempting to fool a Professor.”

_That’s fine_ , Lily thought. She was pretty sure she knew who she _could_ fool. She just didn’t know if she could bring herself to talk to him.


	21. An Attempt at Normalcy

The snow was falling faster as they reached the castle, the vast swathes of white fluff covering the school grounds. Lily might have been miserably cold if it wasn’t for the layers of invisible warmth wrapped around her. Through the windows to the Great Hall, she could see the Christmas decorations and a large, festive set of trees. That was all she could see from outside, of course, since she wasn’t anywhere near the right angle to see any of the students that must assuredly be eating supper.

Thinking of food set Lily’s stomach grumbling, followed immediately by her noticing how parched her throat was. She ate at the hospital, but that felt like days ago at this point. Her feet were aching from the trip, and her legs weren’t getting any sturdier. As they pushed into the Entrance Hall, she could smell the wonderful delights awaiting her in the next room, wafting straight towards her with a gentle breeze, as if it was trying to tempt her to enter inside, to join the feasting and merriment. She took a step forward, mouth watering from anticipation, dreaming of roast chicken.

“Miss Potter, where do you think you are going?” McGonagall’s shrewd voice asked. Lily turned apprehensively, noting the professor’s quizzical look.

“Supper, Professor?” Lily said in a high tone. She pointed to the Great Hall with her thumb over her shoulder.

“I’m afraid we do not have the time for a feast tonight, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said. “You have already fallen too far behind your peers. We will need to get started immediately if you have any hopes of catching up.”

“But, Professor-“

“No arguments, Miss Potter. If you are that famished, I shall send for something to be brought up for you.”

McGonagall turned, cloak flowing behind her, and proceeded towards the staircase. Lily looked back one last time at the Great Hall, listening to the chatter coming from within. She dragged her feet as she pouted, following behind the professor. The container of fudge tucked safely in her robes was suddenly _very_ tempting, and she licked her lips as she thought of it.

“Filius will be instructing you after the Holidays,” McGonagall called out as they reached her office. “He believes he can get you up to speed in just a week for Charms. I, on the other hand, think it will be a miracle if you’re caught up in Transfiguration by the end of term.”

A quick wave of her wand, and the door was unlocked and swinging open for the two of them. Lily popped one last piece of fudge into her mouth, and then tucked the rest back inside her robe. She had to chew quickly. McGonagall was clearly looking at her for some sort of response. She swallowed, wishing she had something to drink. It’d help in getting the thick chocolatey substance down her throat.

“I can do it, Professor,” she said thickly.

“I certainly hope so, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said sharply as she closed the door behind the two of them. “I must admit, I find your lack of talent in Transfiguration disappointing. Both your parents were quite adept at the subject.”

Lily didn’t know how to think about that one, so she tried not to think about it at all. She couldn’t be good at _everything_.

Another wave of her wand, and the office space magically expanded, allowing them more space to maneuver. Lily was impressed by that one, although she couldn’t help but wonder why Flitwick never did the same. He’d have a lot more space to leave books and papers lying around if he could expand it.

“Were they really that good, Professor?” Lily asked. She just couldn’t help herself, really, now that the thought of her parents had been placed into her brain. She wished the mirror was still around, if only so she could get one last look at them.

“Oh, yes,” McGonagall said. “Your father managed an O on both his OWLs and NEWTs. I’ve never seen a student so proficient. I tried to convince him to make use of the talent, but he quite insisted on becoming an Auror. A pity.”

She remembered somebody mentioning her father being an Auror, but she couldn’t remember _who_ it was. It made sense to her, though; she did remember Gran and the Gringotts goblin talking about his depreciated funds from the war effort. It was hard to combine that with the mischievous look she’d gotten from the mirror, though, with his cocky smile and messy, black hair.

“And my mother?” Lily asked hopefully. She knew hardly anything about her mother; people talked about her far less. All she knew was the original Lily was proficient in Charms and Potions and, by all account, was a very nice girl. Lily thought she was really pretty, too, but she didn’t know if that was the fault of the mirror.

“Oh, yes, Lily was good at _everything_ , wasn’t she?” McGonagall said fondly. “She had more of an aptitude for Potions and Charms, like yourself, but she still managed to earn an O on her OWLs and an E on her NEWTs. With a little luck, we should be able to do the same for you, provided that you _stop getting yourself killed._ ”

“I haven’t died yet, Professor,” Lily said with a smile. McGonagall gave a disapproving scowl in response.

“Well, then, perhaps you’ll find yourself actually attending classes in the future?” McGonagall asked. “Another month in St. Mungo’s and you might have had to repeat your second year. You’ve already missed far too much as it is.”

“What are we working on first, Professor?” Lily asked, desperate to talk about something else. She certainly did _not_ want to think about leaving all her friends behind. She’d have Ginny, she supposed, and Luna was nice enough, but she’d be a laughingstock if that happened.

“Do you remember what we were working on before the Quidditch match, Miss Potter?” McGonagall asked, long, thin wand held comfortably between her hands.

“Err-“ Lily stammered. “We covered the Softening Charm the week before, but-“

“ _Reparifarge_ , Miss Potter,” McGonagall said with a sigh. “Do you remember what it does?”

“No, Professor,” Lily admitted. She hadn’t even begun to study whatever it was _Reparifarge_ did, and she hadn’t lied; _she’d_ been working on the Softening Charm before her hospitalization. It was a Charm, sure, but she’d already been behind before that, when they’d been working on transforming rabbits into slippers. Her face felt hot, but she met the Professor’s eyes. At the very least, McGonagall didn’t look surprised about it.

“It is an incantation used to revert a transfigured item back to its original form,” McGonagall explained. “For instance, should you be transfiguring a bird into a goblet with _Vera Verto_ , and the wings or head remain, you can use _Reparifarge_ to turn the bird back to normal. Do you understand, Miss Potter?”

“Yes,” Lily said quickly. She couldn’t help but wonder why they didn’t cover that _last_ year. She could still hear the taunting from her friends about the unfortunate mice she tortured during her study sessions. She hoped the poor things were doing well; they escaped her grasp right before the summer break.

Upon reflection, this was probably the easiest spell Lily had covered thus far in Transfiguration. McGonagall seemed impressed at her progress, even if she did keep her for an hour before finally, mercifully, sending for a platter of food to be brought up. Lily ate a hurried dinner of roast chicken legs and baked potatoes (with McGonagall sniffing disapprovingly at her table manners) and then was dismissed.

“I shall see you tomorrow, Miss Potter,” McGonagall called out as Lily placed her hand on the knob.

She paused, turning to look back at the Professor, who was already working on grading some other assignments.

“Tomorrow is Tuesday, Professor,” Lily said. “We don’t have Trans-“

“I believe I already explained to you that we shall be having nightly meetings, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said exhaustedly. “I shall see you tomorrow at the same time for some more practice.”

“But-“ Lily began, “But, Professor, I won’t have time for-“

“I shall send for food again, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said, cutting her off with a wave of her hand. “I’m afraid we do not have the time to wait. We must get you caught up.”

“But-“ Lily began again, “But, Professor, I have lessons with-“

“With Miss Clearwater, yes, I know,” McGonagall said, looking up shrewdly this time. “Your weekly meetings will be moved to Saturdays, after your Quidditch practice. Miss Clearwater will explain further at a later date. You are dismissed, Miss Potter.”

“But what about the other sessions, Professor?” Lily asked. “We’re supposed to have practice on-“

“You will be missing the weekday practice sessions, I am afraid,” McGonagall said. “I have already had word with Mr. Wood. In addition to the practice on Saturday mornings, you will also have an additional practice on Sunday evenings. You are dismissed _,_ Miss Potter.”

“But-“

“You are _dismissed,_ Miss Potter,” McGonagall said one last time, shooting Lily a look that said there would be no further discussion. Lily took the hint, turned the knob, and pushed the door open, grumbling under her breath in defiance.

“Lily!” Neville’s voice rang out. He hopped up from the floor, where he’d been sitting with Ron, and quickly threw his arms around Lily in a warm embrace. Lily let out a little squeak of surprise, arms failing to close around the boy in return.

“Saw you come in,” Ron said as he stood, patting a hand firmly on his robes.

Lily returned the hug finally as her senses returned to her. “Does anyone else-“

“ _You are dismissed, Miss Potter,_ ” McGonagall said loudly from behind. Lily took the further hint, sidling outside and closing the door firmly behind her.

“Does anyone else know yet?” Lily asked. She was hoping for a nice, quiet night. She was rather tired, and wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed for a long, _long_ rest.

“Fred and George were with us when we checked the map,” Ron admitted. “They’ve probably told half the school by now.”

“Sorry,” Neville said sheepishly as the trio turned to make their way upstairs. “We needed their help keeping an eye on it, like you asked.”

“Well did you see anything weird?’ Lily asked in return.

Ron shook his head. “Malfoy keeps going to the same room in the dungeons, but otherwise nothing.”

“Malfoy?” Lily asked sharply. “What’s he up to?”

“Dunno. But he’s staying here over the Holidays. We think he might be up to something.”

“Then why did you say you haven’t seen anything?” Lily asked.

“I was watching the map during the last attack, Lily, Malfoy didn’t go anywhere near the dungeons,” Neville explained. Lily grabbed both boys by the arm as they passed a portrait of Circe. The beautiful enchantress smiled at Lily fondly, twirling her goblet of wine expectantly.

“Wiggypiggy,” she said. Circe winked at her, then swung open, revealing a staircase upwards.

“I thought that went down!” Ron said in an impressed tone. “Map says Piggywiggy takes us to the Entrance Hall.”

“I said it wrong the first time I used it, and she let me go up,” Lily said, grunting as she pulled herself up into the alcove. She lent Neville a helping hand, but Ron pulled himself up with no assistance. She lit her wand for the group as the portrait swung closed behind them. “Fred and George couldn’t get it to work, though.”

“Why couldn’t they?” Ron asked.

“Well, Circe turned men into pigs, didn’t she?” Lily said as they began their ascent. “Maybe the stairs up are just for girls.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Ron said. “First boys can’t go up your dorm tower, now we can’t even take a secret staircase?”

“Oh, stuff it, Ron,” Lily said. “I’m sure there’s plenty of places only boys can go in the castle. Are we sure Malfoy isn’t the one behind the attacks? What if whatever he’s doing in the dungeons is on a delay?”

“Could be following orders, too,” Ron suggested. “Maybe he’s just leaving instructions for it and then hiding away when the attack actually happens.”

“He didn’t go on Halloween, either,” Neville said. “I was watching him all day.”

“Who else did you watch?” Lily asked.

“Malfoy and the other Slytherins, mostly,” Neville said.

“Are we sure it’s a Slytherin?” Lily asked.

“Course it is,” Ron said snidely. “They’re the heir of Slytherin, aren’t they? I reckon it has to be Malfoy, that git’s been ecstatic after every single attack.”

“Half of Slytherin was, Ron,” Lily pointed out. “They’ve been cheering me on, haven’t they, since the Prophet ran that slander piece? Keep an eye on him anyway, if it’s any second year it _has_ to be him.”

“Who do you reckon it is, then?” Ron asked.

“I _reckon_ it had to be a first year,” Lily said. “Think about it: Dobby didn’t come to me until this year, and we never even _heard_ of the Chamber of Secrets until now. You don’t think that’s weird?”

“What about the seventh years?” Neville asked.

“Good point, Nev,” Ron agreed. “Could be one of them, waiting to do anything until they’re about to leave.”  
“Do either of you know any Slytherin seventh year’s names?” Lily asked.

“No, but Fred and George might be able to tell us,” Ron suggested.

“Then we’ll keep an eye on them, the first years, and Malfoy,” Lily said, stopping before the exit on the seventh floor. She turned around, holding her free hand out towards Ron.

“What?” Ron asked, giving her a strange look.

“The _map_ , Ron,” Lily said, thrusting her hand out one more. “I’m back now, hand it over.”

“Right,” Ron said quickly, shoving his hand into his pocket and wrenching out the wad of papers, map still showing.

“You’re supposed to deactivate it when you’re not using it, Ron,” Lily said, giving it a once over to make sure nobody was outside their hidey-hole. The coast seemed clear.

“Sorry,” Ron muttered. Lily could only assume his ears were flushing, but she didn’t check.

“Mischief managed,” Lily said, wand placed on the parchment. “ _Nox_.”

Lily pushed open the exit, hopping down on the ground below. That particular hallway wasn’t dusty, for whatever reason. In fact, anything hidden behind a portrait never seemed to be, while the one behind tapestries were always covered in a thick layer.

Neville hopped down next, landing far less gracefully. Lily helped pull him up as Ron jumped down, the wall swinging closed behind them, then stuffed both map and wand into her robes.  
“How come this side doesn’t have a portrait?” Ron asked, looking behind them curiously.

“It only works one way,” Lily explained. “Can’t open it from this side. Did either of you bring any food back with you?”

“No,” Ron said.

“We didn’t notice you were back until after we left,” Neville added.

“Figures,” Lily said grumpily. She rubbed at her stomach as it let out another grumble. She stopped sharply in front of the Fat Lady, glancing back at her two companions. Neville, in turn, turned to Ron, who was their sole hope.

“Password?” The Fat Lady asked.

“Nicholas Flamel,” Ron said, the Fat Lady swinging open to reveal the portrait hole.

“That seems a bit cheeky,” Lily said as she proceeded through.

“A bit, yeah,” Ron agreed. “But the Fat Lady likes to have fun, doesn’t she? She knows what she’s about.”

“Lily!” a feminine voice called out before a set of arms clamped down tightly around her torso.

“Lavender!” Lily said in a voice of feigned excitement. She was just a bit too tired and sore to truly appreciate the affection at the moment.

“I missed you!” Lavender said in real excitement, breaking off the hug and flashing an expression of pure delight.

“And I missed you!” Lily said in return as Parvati joined them. Lily pushed onward, heading straight for the Girl’s Tower. She had to cover her mouth as she let out a huge yawn.

“Do you want to come study with us, Lily?” Parvati asked.

“No, I think I’m going to head to bed early, actually,” Lily said with another yawn. “It’s been a long day, you know, and my legs are killing me.”

“Lily, we have Astronomy tonight,” Ron said.

Lily stopped in her tracks, hand on the railing. “Right. Monday. A nap, then.”

“I’ll wake you up when it’s time!” Lavender said excitedly, clapping her hands together.

“Looking forward to it!” Lily said, letting out another big yawn.

“Lily, can I borrow a bit of _scratch parchment_ before you go?” Ron asked sharply. “Have some homework to do, you know?”

“Right,” Lily said, digging the map back out of her robe and handing it over. “See you in a bit, then.”

“Goodnight, Lily!” Lavender called after her. Lily waved sleepily, but chose not to respond otherwise. She was worried nobody would be able to wake her, to be honest. There were still a lot of stairs between her and her bed, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to make it. As she passed by the open third-year’s dorm, she considered asking Katie if she could nap in there, instead, but gave it up when she saw the girl, alone, reclining on her mattress with a book open on her lap. She let out a curse as she stubbed her toe on the next step, hand quickly grasping onto the railing to steady herself.

“Lily!”

“Katie!” Lily called back. She could hear the Chaser springing off her mattress. She took the chance to sit on the steps so she could massage her foot. The appendage felt much better out of the shoe, and her toes cracked loudly as she stretched them out. Maybe she needed new shoes, too. She’d have to get some over the Holidays.

Katie’s face appeared in the door way, her hands clasping onto the walls around it as she searched around. Her smile lit up as she finally found the Seeker.

“You’re back!” she said.

“I’m back!” Lily agreed with a friendly wave.

“Do you want to come in?” Katie asked, gesturing inside her dorm.

“Maybe later,” Lily said. “I was heading up for a nap, I have Astronomy later.”

“Oh,” Katie said. Lily didn’t like the sound of disappointment she heard in that tone.

“Well, maybe for just a couple of minutes,” Lily said, standing awkwardly on her one (almost) bare foot. The cold stone felt weird through her sock.

“You don’t have to,” Katie said quickly. “Really, I don’t want to keep you up.”

“It’s fine.” Lily pushed her way past the girl, taking a seat on the bed Katie had been just moments before.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Katie relented. Lily thought she was trying to hide her smile. “Are you feeling alright, now?”

“Loads, thanks to the Strengthening Solutions.” Lily gave a little flew with her arms. “Built up a decent amount of muscle, too, since I basically had to carry myself that first week.”

“We were all really worried about you, you know?” Katie said shyly. Lily briefly remembered the look of horror she had on her face right before Lockhart arrived. 

“I have a knack for almost dying,” Lily said with a confident wink. “I’ll probably be back in the Hospital Wing before the year is over.”

“Well, at least we can visit you there,” Katie said. She finally took a seat next to Lily, the mattress sagging a bit from the extra weight.

“Have I always been taller than you?” Lily asked, now that she was comparing their heights.

Katie shook her head. “No, but you caught up _really_ quickly. I don’t think I’ll get much taller, though, I’m already taller than my mum is.”

“What about your dad?” Lily asked.

“He’s got over a head on me,” Katie said with a scoff. “He used to play Beater in school, so he’s quite big. How about you? How tall are your- sorry, that was a stupid question.”

“It’s okay,” Lily said sadly. “I didn’t know them, but I saw them in the mirror last year. I think I’m already as tall as mum, but my dad was a good bit taller than she was. I could still catch up, though, my Aunt Petunia is _really_ tall. Hope I won’t be as skinny, though.”

Katie squeezed onto Lily’s arm. “I think you already got her, there.”

“Yeah, she was practically all bone,” Lily said with a smile. “You should have seen my cousin and Uncle, though, they were _huge_ , but not in the same sense, just really fat.”

“I didn’t know you had family, Lily,” Katie said. “Why don’t you stay with them instead of the Weasleys?”

“They’re Muggles,” Lily said, hoping to leave it at that.

“Oh. I didn’t know you, err- cared about all that.”

_Oh, Merlin, you really screwed that one up, Potter._

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Lily said in her defense. “It’s fine that they’re Muggles, it’s just- they’re not very good people, and they hated that I’m a witch, so I left them.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that, and Lily briefly considered leaving, although she didn’t think she’d be able to nap anymore now that her mind was racing.

“I always wondered,” Katie said, “Why do you go by Lily instead of Hazel?”

“It was my Mum’s name, and my Aunt just- she always got confused and called me that, so I figured I might as well, you know?”

There was a bit more to it, but she was _definitely_ not touching that one.

“I should have realized that, we all grew up hearing their names,” Katie said shyly. She seemed genuinely embarrassed about it, as far as Lily could tell.

“I suppose it must have been a bit weird when I showed up last year,” Lily said.

“Well, we all knew you’d be coming to Hogwarts _eventually_ , I just- I don’t know, _I_ didn’t expect it, at the least. My dad’s always telling me I need to pay more attention to- to things like that.”

“You probably knew more about me than I did, at that point,” Lily said. “I was still trying to wrap my head around being a witch, and then I was told there would be a _test_ , and then suddenly a hat was singing a song to us. It was a weird day.”

“I’m glad you’re in Gryffindor,” Katie said sweetly.

“Me, too,” Lily agreed. “Even if it does keep almost getting me killed. The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, if you want to know the truth.”  
“Really?” Katie said in shock.

“Really,” Lily confirmed. “I asked to be in Gryffindor, though, so he put me here. Don’t think I’ve told anybody about that one.”

“Well, now I’m _really_ glad you’re here,” Katie said as she put a hand on Lily’s. “Could you imagine if you _were_ in Slytherin? Half the school already thinks you’re the Heir, they’d just take that as confirmation.”

“I think I’d just freeze to death,” Lily said with a laugh. “They’re common room is in the dungeons, and I can hardly last long enough to get through _Potions_. I’d never be able to _live_ down there.”

“I think you’d be fine, I’m sure they keep fires going constantly.”

“If they didn’t, they’d all be covered in frost constantly,” Lily said as she stifled a yawn. “I should go, I really need that nap.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Katie said. “Want to go down to breakfast together?”

“Sure,” Lily agreed happily. “It’ll be nice to have someone down there for once, Neville and Ron never get up until they absolutely have to.”

“I’ll get up early, then,” Katie said with a wink. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Goodnight, Katie,” Lily said as left the doorway. She left it open, assuming Katie liked it that way, and resumed her sleepy shuffle up the staircase. Her own down was still closed, like it always ways. Lily didn’t know why they bothered, since they had the top floor. Nobody ever came up unless they lived there or needed something. She pushed the door to their dorm open without knocking, taking another moment to yawn.

“Lily!” Hermione’s voice called from within, followed by a quick shuffle as she got to her feet.

“Hello,” Lily said as she shuffled her feet towards her four-poster. It was just as she left it: trunk propped lazily on top of the mattress, books and belongings scattered around. That might have made her a little anxious before, but the invisibility cloak was still missing, so she didn’t have anything to worry about. Who would want to steal some dirty robes and scuffed textbooks?

“How- err- how are you?” Hermione asked sheepishly.

Lily glanced over as she began to pile her things back into her trunk. Hermione was standing near her own bed, looking over nervously, fidgeting with her hands. Lily knew that feeling all-too-well.

“I’m walking,” Lily answered. “That’s an improvement. You should have seen-“

Hermione crossed over quickly, throwing her arms around Lily tightly. Lily didn’t mind, even if her ribs were starting to get _really_ sore from all the hugging.

“I’m sorry, Lily,” Hermione said as she squeezed even tighter, voice growing thicker. “I- I- I-“

“It’s okay, Hermione,” Lily said reassuringly, sliding her own arms around Hermione’s back. “I’m fine, really, I’m-“

“It’s not that,” Hermione said with a sniff as she broke the contact. “I’ve- I’ve been so horrible to you, lately, and I thought- I- I didn’t want that to be the last way I treated you. I’m so sorry, Lily.”

Lily pulled Hermione into a hug, this time, holding the bushy-haired girl close. “I’m sorry, too, Hermione, I shouldn’t have said what I did, I-“

“It’s my fault, Lily, I’m the one that refused to listen to anything you said,” Hermione interrupted, hugging Lily tight again. “Ron and- and Neville, they told me about Dobby and the letters and everything else!”

That surprised Lily, and she faltered for a moment, unable to think. She would have thought they’d mention something like that, but she would have, apparently, been wrong.

“I’m sorry, Lily, really, please, can we just go back to being friends?” Hermione asked, voice full of hope and pain.

Lily squeezed a little tighter, then let go, quickly rubbing at her eyes before Hermione could see. “You never stopped being my friend, Hermione.”

“Thanks, Lily,” Hermione said, wiping at her own eyes far less subtly.

“I was going to nap before Astronomy,” Lily said as she moved her trunk to the floor. “I can stay up, instead, if you want to talk.”

“No, no, no, you go ahead!” Hermione said quickly, grabbing her bag from her own mattress and quickly slinging it over her shoulder. “I have to talk to T- I have to write home real quick, and I best hurry if I don’t want to be out after curfew.”

“Wake me up before class,” Lily called out as Hermione opened the door.

“Goodnight, Lily, I’ll see you in a bit,” Hermione said as she closed the door quietly behind her.

Lily tucked herself in nicely, feeling warm and toasty and loved. She didn’t expect to actually fall asleep so quickly, especially once her scar resumed its familiar tingling, but soon enough a hand was shaking her awake.

“Come on, Lily, it’s time to go,” Hermione’s voice said.

“Ten more minutes,” Lily said as she rolled over.

“I already _gave_ you ten more minutes, Lily,” Hermione said, shaking her friend’s shoulder once more.

“Fine,” Lily grumbled, sitting up. “I’m up. I’ll meet you downstairs in five minutes.”

“I’m waiting right here,” Hermione said, crossing her arms in defiance. “If I don’t, we’ll be late. We both know you’d go back to sleep.”

“Fine,” Lily grumbled, rolling out of bed. “I’m up. Let’s go.”

There was no need to dress or prepare anything else, since she slept in her robes. She felt a little gross, sure, but she’d shower tomorrow morning. Half the class would be worse off than she was, anyway, since they had a long day of classes. Lily glanced over to Hermione’s bed, watching the other girl pack up a few things, tucking a black journal into her robes.

“That all wasn’t there when I went to bed,” Lily said with a raised eyebrow.

“I, err- I came back a while ago, and- and did some homework while you slept,” Hermione admitted, face aflush. “You grumbled in your sleep a few times, but I didn’t wake you.”

“Why didn’t you work downstairs?” Lily asked as she hoisted her telescope under her arm, covering her mouth with her free hand as she yawned. Hermione set her own back down, likely hoping to partner with Lily. Lily didn’t mind, of course; that was her plan, as well.

“Too crowded and I- I needed the privacy,” Hermione said.

“Privacy?” Lily asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” Hermione whispered. “We have a lot to catch up on, I think.”

“We do,” Lily agreed as she pushed open the door, leaving behind her _very_ cozy bed.

“How did you sleep?” Hermione asked.

“Dunno,” Lily said, suppressing another yawn. “Couldn’t have been too well, if you woke me up that easily.”

“What were you dreaming about?” Hermione asked.

“Dunno,” Lily said, failing to suppress this one. “I don’t dream, remember?”

“Well, you _have_ to dream,” Hermione said. “We all do. You just can’t remember them.”

“I don’t remember it, then,” Lily said, taking a step into the common room proper. She glanced around, noticing how empty it all was. “Where’s everybody else?”

“Already left,” Hermione said. “I told Lavender to go on ahead, and she must have told everyone else.”

“So, what did you have to tell me?” Lily asked as they pushed out into the seventh floor.

“Later,” Hermione said once more, voice dropping into a whisper again. “He told me not to tell you, but I think I should. But I can’t yet, I at least want to _try_ convincing him first.”

“Him?” Lily asked. “Who? Ron? Why would Ron want to-“

“Not Ron,” Hermione said quickly. “Nobody you know, actually, I just-“

“Hermione,” Lily interrupted, “Do you, err- Did you get a boyfriend while we weren’t talking?”

Hermione looked shocked and appalled. “Merlin, Lily, no, I- Where did you even-“

“Well, it’s just all the secrecy and the _him_ is all,” Lily explained. “I just thought-“

“No, Lily, I- I don’t know if- No, it’s not that,” Hermione said, looking supremely flustered.

“Well once _he_ makes up his mind, do let me know,” Lily said, patting her embarrassed friend on the back as they began their ascent up the Astronomy Tower. One of the few perks of having a common room on the top floor was they didn’t have to go very far to reach Astronomy. The rest of the second-years weren’t so lucky, _especially_ the Slytherins. The Gryffindors could easily snatch up the best spots, and they always did.

Lily continued teasing Hermione throughout the class period. The other girl didn’t seem to appreciate it very much, but she let Lily do it anyway. She just seemed happy to be working with Lily once more. Ron and Neville stood nearby, laughing at any joke Lily made, but otherwise let the two be. Lily thought Neville looked particularly happy about the situation, but he kept looking away every time she looked over. They did join in the conversation when Lily decided to tell Hermione everything they knew about the Chamber of Secrets, at least, and even filled in a few gaps Lily forgot about.

“You really think it’s a Slytherin?” Hermione asked in a whisper as Lily turned their telescope towards Jupiter.

“Who else would it be?” Ron asked, his eyes flickering over to where Malfoy was lazily leaning against the tower railing. “You saw the writing on the wall, same as we did.”

“None of us saw it, Ron, it’s been sectioned off all year,” Hermione said.

“Fine, then, but Lily saw it, didn’t she?”

“That doesn’t mean it has to be a Slytherin, though,” Hermione argued, “It could just as easily be someone trying to _frame_ them. And, just because someone is an _heir_ , doesn’t mean they’re _in_ Slytherin, it just means they’re related to Salazar’s line.”

“Who do you think did it, then?’ Ron asked smugly. Lily thought he never really got on well with Hermione, but she pushed _his_ buttons just as much as he pushed hers, so she let the frustration pass.

Hermione blushed. “Well, I- I have a suspicion, of course, but I don’t think I have enough evidence to share it.”

“Then we’ll be going off ours until you deem otherwise,” Ron said. “Should we tell her about the thing, Lily?”

“What thing?” Lily asked as she looked up from the eyepiece. She really needed to sketch those moon positions before they left her brain.

“The _scratch parchment_ ,” Ron said.

“Oh! No, we’ll just show her later. Who has it right now?”

“I don’t understand,” Hermione muttered to herself.

“I do,” Neville said as he raised his hand shyly. “It’s my turn, tonight, or, at least, it was before you got back.”

“You can have it,” Lily said. “I need to get some more homework done before I head to bed.”

“What scratch parchment?” Hermione asked.

Class ended far too soon for Lily’s taste, and they were soon walking back to the common room, Hermione dragging her feet along sleepily. Lily didn’t mind the slower pace; she happily let the other second years stream ahead. Lavender kept trying to lag behind, seemingly to talk with Lily, but Parvati kept tugging her onwards. Lily appreciated the privacy.

The common room was completely empty as they arrived back inside. Lily waved to Ron and Neville as they climbed their staircase with Seamus and Dean. Parvati hauled Lavender up their own, and she waved to them as well. She wasn’t tired in the slightest anymore. She blamed the nap, but she absolutely needed it at the time.

She chose to sit on the couch, instead, placing herself right next to the fire. She leaned back into the cushion, enjoying the warmth, doing her best to relax. Hermione sat down next to her, letting out a yawn and glancing furtively at the staircase.

“You can go to bed, if you want,” Lily suggested. “You don’t have to sit here with me. I don’t mind.”

“Aren’t you tired?” Hermione asked, eyes glancing over at the staircase again.

“Not yet, I just napped. I’ll be up in a bit, though.”

“Why sit over here?” Hermione asked, nudging towards the flames with her head. “Normally you sit in the corner with Ron and Neville.”

“I dunno,” Lily said with a shrug. “How often do we get a chance to sit here? Normally Percy hogs it with his ‘Prefect Privileges.’”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t do the same?”

“I absolutely would,” Lily said with a grin, “And I will, too. Just wait until fifth year.”

Hermione smiled back at that, although hers was slyer. “You think _you’re_ going to make Prefect? After all the grief you’ve given McGonagall?”

“Dumbledore picks them, doesn’t he?” Lily asked. “I think he likes a bit of trouble. Ron said so, too, last year.”

Hermione shook her head at that. “Didn’t you hear? The governors changed it. The Heads of Houses pick their own prefects now.”

“Bloody hell,” Lily groaned, “There goes that, then. It’ll be you, for sure.”

“Me?” Hermione asked incredulously, hand raised over her mouth.

“You really think she’d choose _Lavender_?” Lily said sarcastically.

“What about Parvati?” Hermione suggested.

Lily shook her head. “Hermione, you’re top of the class _and_ follow the rules to the letter. In what world _wouldn’t_ it be you? My only hope was Dumbledore.”

Hermione bit at her lip. Lily smiled fondly.

“I- I don’t think it’ll be me, Lily. Not after I- Just- It won’t be me.”

Lily’s smile faltered. “Why are you so sure?”

“I-“ Hermione started, eyes glancing up at the staircase again. “I’ll explain later. I think I’ll get to bed.”

“Wait-“ Lily called out as Hermione rose from their couch.

“Goodnight, Lily,” Hermione said as she rushed to the staircase.

“Night,” Lily said quietly as she watched Hermione’s retreating figure climb up the spiral staircase. She turned back to the fireplace, staring into the crackling logs.

“Did I do something wrong?” she mumbled to herself. She tried to pour over the day’s activities, wondering if she said something weird. The only thing she could think of was the boyfriend remark, but that was just teasing. And even then, Hermione seemed like she had something to hide.

“Maybe she cursed that bludger,” Lily said to herself, chuckling at the mere thought of it.

“I am sorry, Hazel Potter,” a familiar voice said from behind. Lily jumped up in surprise, pulling out her wand from her robes as she whipped around to find-

“ _Dobby?”_ Lily said in a harsh whisper, lowering her wand. The house elf smiled sadly at her, holding up his wrapped hands as if to apologize once more, green eyes blinking slowly as they met Lily’s own. They flickered downwards as he noticed her staring back, as if he was ashamed and frightened.

“What are you doing here?” Lily asked, glancing back at the staircase to make sure Hermione wasn’t coming back down.

“Dobby comes to apologize, Hazel Potter,” Dobby answered, wringing his bandaged hands together. Lily couldn’t help but stare at them. “Dobby musts try one more time to convince Hazel Potter. Please, Hazel Potter, do not return to Hogwarts once the holidays is over.”

“I’m not staying, Dobby,” Lily said with a sigh, storing her wand back into her robes. “What happened to your hands?”

“Dobby had to burn them for punishment,” Dobby said, trying to hide his hands behind them. “Dobby- Dobby had to be punished after what he did to Hazel Potter.”

“What did you do?” Lily asked curiously. She thought she heard a noise from above, and jumped a bit, but nobody came down.

“Dobby-“ Dobby started to say. Then, he let out a shriek, and ran towards the fire, trying to throw himself into the flames face first.

“Dobby!” Lily yelled out as she grabbed the house elf by the dirty sack he was wearing. She yanked him back, and they both collapsed onto the floor, Lily maintaining a firm grip on the struggling House Elf.

“Dobby, Dobby stop-“ Lily said as she attempted to pin the sobbing elf. “Please, Dobby, shut up, you’re going to wake everybody.” On second thought, though, that didn’t seem like a bad idea. If she could capture Dobby, she could bring him to Dumbledore, and he could _make_ Dobby confess to who was behind the attacks.

Dobby stopped writhing, then blew his nose loudly onto his sack. Lily let go out of disgust, completely abandoning her plan.

“Why do you _wear_ that thing, Dobby?” Lily asked.

“It is the mark of Dobby’s servitude, Miss,” Dobby said with weepy eyes. “Dobby cannot wear anything else. A house elf is only freed when they is presented with clothes, miss.”

Lily let the house elf cry it out, listening to his long, exaggerated sobbing with pity. She was finding it hard to believe that she’d ever been _scared_ of this thing.

“Who is your master, Dobby?” Lily asked once more in a whisper. “Maybe- Maybe I can help you.”

That offer only seemed to make Dobby more distressed, as his howling began once more.

“Dobby- Dobby, shh, please, just be quiet,” Lily said, kneeling on her knees and making her best attempts at soothing noises. Dobby seemed to flinch from her touch, something she knew all too well, so immediately cut that out.

“Dobby heard you was good, Hazel Potter,” Dobby said in a thick voice, wiping his eyes with his dirty sack, “But Dobby never expected this kindness from a wizard.”

“Who is it, Dobby?” Lily asked once more. “We can- we can stop this, we can fix everything if you’ll just tell me.”

“Dobby is sorry, Hazel Potter,” Dobby said. “But Dobby cannot say.”

Lily thought for a moment; she didn’t want to press the issue any further. She was terrified somebody would come down at any moment.

“Why did you come here, Dobby?” Lily asked. “You said you had to apologize, but you didn’t say what for.”

“Dobby thought miss already knew,” Dobby said sheepishly, wringing his hands together once more. “You was talking about it as Dobby came in.”

“I was-“ Lily began. She let her mouth hang open as her brain computed the solution. Then her brow furrowed, and she glared down at the house elf. “ _You_ sent the bludger? Dobby, I almost died!”

Dobby howled again, jumping up and snatched a platter off a nearby table. He dumped the fruits off of it, then began beating himself over the head with it.

“Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!”

Lily tried her best not to feel pity, but pity came anyway. She snatched the platter from Dobby’s hands then caught the back of Dobby’s sack as he attempted to run over to the fireplace once more.

“Will you give it a rest, already?” Lily said. “I forgive you, Dobby, it’s fine. I didn’t die, I’m back, it’s-“

“Dobby- Dobby almost- almost _killed_ Hazel Potter,” Dobby said in a loud sob. “Dobby- Dobby should have thrown himself from the tower, just- just like Master always says but- but Dobby was too scared!”

“Dobby,” Lily said sternly, “If you can’t tell me who’s behind them, can you at least tell me _what_ is attacking the students?”

Dobby sniffed several times. “Dobby does not know, miss. Dobby doesn’t believe master knows, either.”

“Do you know where the Chamber of Secrets is?” Lily asked.

Dobby shook his head vigorously. “Master- Master didn’t know w-what would h-happen, he only knew it would be bad for Albus Dumbledore and Hazel Potter.”

“Dumbledore?” Lily asked. “What about him? Why would it be bad for him?”

“Dobby cannot say, miss,” Dobby said. “Dobby is already saying too much, miss.”

“Is your family pureblood?” Lily asked.

Dobby hesitated. “Yes, miss.”

“Do they have a child currently in Hogwarts?” Lily asked.

“Dobby cannot say, miss,” Dobby said.

“Are they in Slytherin?” Lily asked.

“Dobby cannot say, miss,” Dobby said. He stared up with his big, green eye, willing Lily to understand him. Thankfully, Lily did. Withholding information was as much a confirmation as just outright saying it.

“Is it-“ Lily began. She let out a gasp of pain, hand shooting up to her scar as her vision became watery. _Not now_ , she thought, _not when I’m so close._

“Dobby must go,” Dobby said quickly. “Dobby- Dobby will help you, first, get you to bed where you is safe.”

“No,” Lily said, reaching into her robes as she blinked the pain away. “No, I have to check the map- I have to check-“

Her hand only brushed her wand. The map wasn’t in her pocket. She looked at Dobby, briefly worrying the elf stole it, then her memory clicked in. She gave it to somebody earlier in the night, right before her nap.

“Ron,” she gasped as she stood. She used one hand to steady herself against the couch, the other pressed firmly against her forehead. “Have to get Ron.”

“I am sorry, miss, but Dobby must go, and he must make Hazel Potter safe.”

“Not yet, Dobby,” Lily said as she reached the boy’s tower. She placed a hand on the cool metal railing and took a shaky step. “Not yet, I have to see-“

“There is no time, Hazel Potter,” Dobby said once more. Lily heard a snapping noise, and then fell unconscious, collapsing into a heap on the staircase.

She woke up the next morning to a harsh voice, laying in a heap on top of her four-poster, curtains drawn together. She was still wearing her robes from the previous night, and her head was still pounding.

“Lily, you have to get up,” Hermione’s worried voice said. “There’s- there’s been an attack and- and McGonagall is waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” Lily said in a tired voice. She barely recognized it as her own. “What’s she want me for?”

“I don’t know, Lily, but she’s- she’s _really_ mad about something,” Hermione said. Lily pulled her curtains back, to get a good look at her friend. She also seemed to be wearing the same robes from last night, and she looked equal parts exhausted and worried.

“Where is she?” Lily asked. Lavender and Parvati weren’t in the room.

“She’s- She’s downstairs,” Hermione managed between bouts of biting at her nails. Lily never noticed her doing that before, but they looked a mess. She must have been doing it for a while.

“You look terrible,” Lily said with a tired smile.

“I hardly slept,” Hermione admitted. “I kept having nightmares. Get up, Lily, she’s waiting downstairs.”

“Let’s get it over with, then,” Lily said as she stood. Her legs were still sore from yesterday, and she had to hold on to Hermione briefly to steady herself. She walked forward on her own, ignoring her shaky legs. As she pushed the door open, a set of arms threw themselves around her.

“Lily,” Katie Bell said, “I’m- I’m _so_ sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Lily asked as she returned the tight hug.

“The- the victim, Lily,” Hermione said. “It- It was Neville.”


	22. Wrongly Accused

“I didn’t do it, Professor,” Lily mumbled as she was escorted out of the common room. She was happy to be out of eyeshot; she couldn’t stand the looks they were all giving her.

“I’m afraid this is out of our hands now, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said gravely. “The Headmaster will do what he can, but the governors have already met on this issue.”

“So I’m being expelled, then?” Lily asked sadly. She wished she hadn’t told Katie and Hermione that everything was going to be fine. She hadn’t meant to lie.

“I’m afraid I cannot say, Potter.” McGonagall smiled at her, perhaps to reassure her. It didn’t work. Lily had to choke back her tears.

“Can- Can I at least say goodbye to everybody first?” Lily asked.

McGonagall did not answer the question. She continued striding forward, leading Lily silently down the seventh-floor corridors. The portraits whispered as they passed, and she couldn’t help but believe they were condemning her. Even the normally friendly ones were solemn as they made their way through the empty halls. They stopped in front of a gargoyle, the same one from the first day of term.

“Lemon drop,” McGonagall said seriously. Lily might have smiled if the circumstances were different.

The gargoyle hopped aside just as he did the last time, making way for the speaker to pass. A grand staircase unfolded from the walls, leading ever upwards. Lily briefly wondered where it would even go; there was no tower in this section of the castle that could be seen from the outside.

“In you go, Potter,” McGonagall said. “They are waiting for you upstairs.”

Lily bit her lip. “Would- would you pack my things for me, Professor? I- I don’t want to- to stay long, afterwards.”

McGonagall stared at her for a long moment, her face unchanging,

“I believe I can do that,” she said thickly. “You must be off, Lily.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Lily said as pushed her way into the stairway. It seemed a lot longer this time around, and her legs were screaming in defiance by the time she reached the top. She could hear the gargoyle hop back into place as she finally found herself standing in front of the door. She raised her hand nervously, then knocked a single time, as softly as she could. She hoped an answer wouldn’t come, that she could just make her way back downstairs.

“Enter,” Dumbledore’s aged voice called from within. He sounded as tired as Lily felt.

Lily hesitated, then pushed the door open. The shelves were just as cluttered as they always were, lined with various magical objects and instruments. The Sorting Hat sat at the very top, just as quiet and wrinkled as it normally was. Fawkes, the Phoenix, was looking much better than the last time Lily saw him, although he was significantly smaller.

“Have a seat, Lily,” Dumbledore said kindly, gesturing with his left hand at a comfy armchair sitting in front of his desk. Normally it’d be tucked into the corner of the office. He must have moved it, just for her. It was even her favorite one, with the yellow flowers and pink lining. There was another seat on the other side, as well, currently occupied by Lucius Malfoy, perfectly coifed hair and all. He had a cane resting in his right hand, and he was tapping it against the ground.

Lily shuffled forward nervously, the portraits of previous headmasters mumbling above her. The only one who would meet her eyes was that of Phineas Black, who offered a gesture of encouragement and a smile. She didn’t know how to feel about that, but she decided she liked him.

“Do you know why you were summoned here, Lily?” Dumbledore asked as she took her seat. Lily was about to answer, but a fluttering from nearby startled her as Fawkes took flight, perching a top the armrest before Lily could claim it. He nuzzled at her hand while Dumbledore watched them both fondly.

“The- The attack, sir,” Lily mumbled as she stared at her feet. She didn’t feel like she deserved the Phoenix’s support. This was the second time she was seated in this office, and she was just as uncomfortable as the first time, even if it was for far different reasons. She heard Lucius chuckle from next to her.

“You see, Dumbledore?” he said. “She already admits to it.”

“She has done no such thing, Lucius,” Dumbledore said sternly. “It is only natural that she has already been informed of this predicament.”

“Am I being expelled, sir?” Lily asked quietly.

“No, Lily,” Dumbledore said in a reassuring tone. “You are here because we have some questions for you.”

“Sir?” Lily asked in surprise.

“Dumbledore,” Lucius said as he leaned forward, “I believe you have already been informed that a decision has been-“

“I have agreed to nothing as of yet, Lucius,” Dumbledore interrupted, holding up his hand to stop the blonde man from speaking. “And before I do so, I will hear what Miss Potter has to say.”

“It isn’t up to you anymore, Dumbledore,” Lucius said hotly. “My fellow governors have already-“

“Your fellow governors _refused_ the expulsion, Lucius,” Dumbledore said. “And I believe _I_ am in the tiebreaker in the case of suspension.”

“Longbottom has yet to vote,” Lucius said, leaning back and grabbing his cane with his other hand. He continued drumming it on the floor, this time held between his legs. “And seeing as how it was _her_ grandson who was attacked, I believe her decision will be coming soon enough.”

“Even so,” Dumbledore said, “It is best that we have all the information so that she may cast her vote in full confidence. Lily. What happened last night?”

“Sir, I-“ Lily began, swallowing hard to force down her nervousness. “I was sitting in the common room after Astronomy, talking with Hermione and- and Hermione- she went up to bed, sir, but I napped right after I came back from St. Mungo’s, sir, so I wasn’t tired. I- I sat there in front of the fire for a while when- when my scar started hurting. I remember passing out, sir, but I don’t know how I made it back to bed.”

“And you expect us to believe that you simply woke up in your bed, innocent of all charges?” Lucius Malfoy asked with a sneer that rivalled his son’s. “Come now, Dumbledore, you can’t possibly believe-“

“I do,” Dumbledore said, nodding his head solemnly. “Miss Potter has never shown anything but the utmost integrity. She would not lie about this matter.”

“She had dozens of detentions just the last year, Dumbledore,” Lucius said.

“And she has received only a single one this year,” Dumbledore said calmly, eyes transfixed on Lily’s, “For failing to complete a homework assignment. Tell me, Lucius, does that scream criminal mastermind to you?”

“What it tells me, Dumbledore,” Lucius said slowly, “Is that young Harry here is being _extraordinarily_ careful to _not_ bring attention to themselves. Why would that be, do you think?”

_That name again,_ Lily thought.

“My name isn’t Harry, sir,” Lily spoke up. “It’s Hazel.”

“Apologies,” Lucius said with a smirk. “I misspoke.”

“And you will be careful not to do so again, no doubt,” Dumbledore said calmly.

“No doubt, indeed,” Lucius said equally calmly.

Lucius drummed his cane on the ground harder, although the frustration didn’t show on his face. He ran a hand through his hair as he thought. Lily glanced up nervously occasionally, unsure if she should speak up again.

“With all facts considered, I’m afraid I must vote no, Lucius,” Dumbledore said. “On both matters of expulsion and suspension. Lily will be staying at the school for the foreseeable future.”

“Unfortunately,” Lucius said coldly, “The matter is not up to you. Not yet. Augusta has yet to cast her vote.”

“Abstaining is an equally valid choice, Lucius,” Dumbledore countered. “As I believe you already know. The vote would not be tied if Mrs. Greengrass had not abstained, and we would not be here, sitting in my office, at this very moment.”

Lucius drummed his cane on the ground once more, staring silently at the headmaster. Dumbledore stared back at him, smiling softly, blue eyes twinkling with some private knowledge. Dumbledore always had the effect on people, as if he knew far more than anybody else in the room. Or, at least, he had that effect on Lily. She felt like she really hadn’t done much to defend herself, but she could do nothing other than squirm nervously in her seat, her hands wringing together.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, as if to put the matter to a final rest, but was interrupted by a sharp knocking on the door. His smile faltered as Gran pushed the door open without authorization, storming her way in. Her manner of dress was far sloppier than it would normally be, and the woman looked a mess. Her stuffed vulture hat was nowhere to be found. Her tired eyes glanced furtively over at where Lily was sitting as she strode across the room, and she snorted as a greeting.  
“I see you’ve already brought the girl,” she said. “Saves us the trouble of hunting her down.”

Lily didn’t think that was a very good sign, so she started saying her goodbyes to the castle. Fawkes nipped at her hand again, and she tried to brush him away.

“I believed it was important to hear her side of the story first,” Dumbledore said again. “Would you like her to recount it for you?”

“No,” Gran said. “I vote no on the count of expulsion.”

Dumbledore smiled again, tension leaving his aged face. Lily almost smiled as well, but she could already see where this was going, even before the headmaster could.

“You see, Lucius?” Dumbledore said, “There was no need to-“

“I vote yes on suspension, Dumbledore,” Gran said. “I don’t know if she’s behind everything, but the possibility can’t be ignored. She has a spotty record, and it can’t be a simple coincidence that the attacks stopped while she was in the hospital and _immediately_ resumed upon her return.”

Dumbledore looked shocked, ever so briefly, and then his face became solid stone once more. He smiled at Lily reassuringly, but Lily didn’t try to return it. She couldn’t stop staring at her feet. She could hear Lucius Malfoy chuckle from his seat nearby.

“We will be revisiting this matter in the future, Dumbledore,” he said, “It is not nearly settled yet, not until these attacks are stopped for once and for all.”

“If this matter is truly settled,” Dumbledore said quietly, eyes locked onto Gran in a quiet fury, “then I believe I shall see Miss Potter back to her dorm before we continue the day’s discussions.”

“No need for that, Albus,” Gran said. “Minerva is waiting for the lass downstairs.”

She put a firm hand under one of Lily’s arms and hauled her upright. Lily allowed it. She didn’t have any fight in her at the moment. Fawkes squawked at her, then took flight again as he returned to his previous perch.

“I will ask you _not_ to touch my student, Augusta,” Dumbledore said coldly. “She is perfectly capable of standing on her own.”

“It’s okay, Professor,” Lily said quietly as she shuffled away from the seat. Gran immediately took it, of course, not even bothering to spare a glance for the girl who once lived with her. “I’ll- I’ll go see McGonagall, Professor.”

“I shall see you after the Holidays, Lily,” Dumbledore said sadly. Lily nodded, and closed the door to the Headmaster’s office behind her. She sat down at the top step for a moment, taking in a series of deep, rattling breaths, squeezing her eyes shut to stop the stinging. She could hear the adults talking in the room behind her, Dumbledore’s voice in particular sounding uncharacteristically angry.

“She’s a _liar_ , Dumbledore,” Gran shouted. “And I will no longer tolerate it.”

“Your son would be ashamed,” Dumbledore said.

“Don’t you _dare_ mention Frank to me, Dumbledore. Don’t you _dare_.”

“Indeed, Dumbledore,” Lucius said smugly. “I think you’ll find you’re not in a position to argue any further. We’ll be meeting in a few weeks discuss your _own_ tenure here at Hogwarts, after all?”

“Are you threatening me, Lucius?”

“Of course not! But, seeing as how you have _refused_ to remove the oaf responsible, we have no choice but to bring into question your own responsibility. If you had allowed us to remove him weeks ago, and the attacks stopped, Potter’s own record would never have been brought into question.”

Lily scooted further from the door. She didn’t want to hear anymore. She couldn’t stand the thought of Dumbledore knowing who was behind this, saying nothing, and letting her take the fall for it all.

Lily heard voices outside as she descended the spiral stairs ten minutes later. She tried to keep her face stoic, just like McGonagall would.

“Come on, Professor, we can _help_ her if you’ll just let us in,” Ron’s voice said.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Weasley, but there are to be no distractions,” McGonagall’s said. “And I highly doubt there is anything you can say that will change her situation.”

“But-“ Ron said again.

“It’s fine, Ron,” Lily said solemnly as she sidled past the gargoyle. It didn’t jump out of the way for her, for whatever reason, and it was a tight fit, the sharp edges grabbing at her cloak as she attempted to pass.

“Lily!” Katie and Hermione called out as one, both throwing her into a tight hug. Lily had to admit, that _did_ make her feel slightly better.

“How did it go?” Katie asked, placing a hand under Lily’s chin so she couldn’t look away.

“Are you e-expelled?” Hermione asked, biting her lip.

“Suspended,” Lily said, trying to offer a smile. “I’ll be back after the Holidays.”

“Thank Merlin,” Ron said, earning a sharp glare from Professor McGonagall. Lily had to agree, though; at least she was allowed to come back.

“This is not happy news, Mr. Weasley,” their head of house said sharply. “No student has been suspended from Hogwarts for almost a century. Certainly not a single during my entire tenure as Professor. This will reflect poorly on Miss Potter’s future.”

“So would getting expelled, Professor,” Lily said.

“I will give the four of you a moment,” McGonagall said. “Say your farewells, Potter, and then meet me in the Entrance Hall. I must send a message before we leave. Mr. Weasley will carry your trunk for you.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Lily said sadly. McGonagall nodded, and then swept off, leaving the four of them standing in front of the gargoyle, Ron resting his hand on Lily’s packed trunk.

“We should get going,” Ron said after an awkward silence. “It could take us a while to get down there. Merlin, Lily, what do you keep in this thing? It’s much heavier than mine.”

“Our books,” Lily answered quietly. “I don’t know if McGonagall packed all of them.”

“She did,” Katie answered.

“We helped her,” Hermione said.

“Thanks,” Lily said awkwardly. They were already on the sixth floor, their journey going by far quicker than Lily would have liked. The tension in the air was palpable, with nobody knowing quite what to say. They passed by the fifth floor just the same, the only sounds that of Lily’s trunk knocking against the steps and Ron’s heavy breathing from the effort.

“Broom’s not there,” Lily noted, pointing to the top of the trunk.

“Bloody hell,” Ron groaned. “Want me to run and grab it?”

“You can’t go up the stairs, Ron,” Hermione said. “I’ll go get it.”

“No, I’m faster,” Katie said, already hopping up a few steps.

“Don’t,” Lily called back. “Ron can- can just bring it with him. When he comes home.”

“Right,” Ron said awkwardly.

“I’ll give it to him later tonight,” Hermione offered.

Lily nodded, then turned to continue on her way. She really didn’t know what else to say.

Katie cleared her throat on the third floor, after a couple more floors of silence. “Do you want us to write to you, Lily? Over the Holidays, I mean.”

“Yes,” Lily said quickly. “I’m staying at the Burrow with the Weasleys, if you need to know the address.”

“I think Monty can find it,” Katie said. “That’s my owl. He’s a Great Gray. Can’t miss him. He won’t leave until you give him a biscuit, though, so try and keep them on hand.”

“A biscuit?” Ron asked curiously through his heavy breathing.

Katie smiled. “He _loves_ them. Not the chocolate kind, though, but everything else he can’t get enough of. Don’t know why.”

“I’ll keep a tin near me,” Lily promised.

“Mum keeps a few tins in the cupboard,” Ron said. “Fred and George go through them really quickly, so she always keeps them stocked.”

“Lily,” Hermione said hesitantly. “If you, err- if you need to send something while you’re here at school you’re- you’re welcome to use Hedwig again.”

“Thanks, Hermione,” Lily said with a soft smile.

McGonagall was waiting for her in the Entrance Hall, as promised. Hermione and Katie each gave Lily one final, tight hug, while Ron cleared his throat awkwardly. Lily took the initiative, pulling him into the tightest hug she could give. He hesitated, then put his own arms around her.

“See you at home,” Lily said awkwardly as she wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. McGonagall took the trunk in hand, then pushed the great doors open with a wave of her wand. The cold wind blew through, sending the cold and the snow directly into Lily. She was already shivering from it all.

“Oh!” Katie piped up. She quickly tore her scarf from her own neck, then tied it snugly around Lily’s.

“Thanks,” Lily said with a genuine smile. “I’ll- I’ll give it back after the Holidays.”

“Keep it,” Katie said nicely. “I’ve got loads upstairs, I won’t miss the one.”

“We’ll see you soon, Lily,” Hermione offered.

Ron nodded in agreement, although he couldn’t bring himself to speak. Katie waved at them all nervously, then followed McGonagall into the snowy outdoors, pulling Katie’s red and gold scarf tightly around her face. It smelled like the fruity perfume she always wore.

“Comfortable, Miss Potter?” McGonagall asked from ahead. Lily had to struggle to trudge through the thick snow to keep up with her. McGonagall was simply vanishing what was in front of her as she walked, but Lily had no idea how to do that herself.

“Yes,” Lily lied. She was still frozen to the bone, but she was fine with it. She didn’t feel like she much deserved being warm.

“I hope so, Miss Potter, as I have some more questions for you, and I will have the truth for once.”

“The truth, Professor?’ Lily asked. She almost stumbled in the snow, but she barely caught herself in time. She had no idea what the professor was talking about _this_ time.

“When I met with you after Mr. Creevey was attacked, you hid something from me after a glance from Mr. Weasley. I will have you tell me what it was.”

“Oh,” Lily said. She thought for a moment, considering another lie. She decided to tell the truth, instead. She’d already gotten into enough trouble today.

“I- I heard a voice, Professor,” she said. “During- during that night. That’s why I was awake. Well, that and the scar. It- it kept saying it wanted to _kill_ , Professor, and that it was very hungry.”

“And you didn’t think this was important information for us to know, Miss Potter?” McGonagall said shrewdly.

“I- I was going to, Professor, just like I said, until- until I saw Ron saying not to. He- He said a wizard hearing voices is _never_ a good thing, and that- that I shouldn’t mention it to anybody else.”

“Fifteen points from Gryffindor, Miss Potter, for keeping vital information a secret,” McGonagall said. “You should have brought this to our attention immediately. This could help us immensely in catching the culprit.”

Lily didn’t try to argue. The professor was absolutely correct. She should have turned around right after the meeting and told her the full truth, regardless of what Ron wanted. She wished that she had.

“I didn’t hear it last night, Professor,” Lily said, deciding on full disclosure. “I only heard it before Mrs. Norris, Colin, and- and Angelina.”

“And neither Miss Johnson nor Sir Nick heard it?” McGonagall asked.

“No, Professor, just me,” Lily said. Then she gasped as she thought of something else. “Oh! But Nick _did_ mention hearing some noise, right before I passed out, Professor, when the voice was at the loudest.”

“And do you remember anything else?” McGonagall asked. They were almost fully off the grounds, and Lily’s toes were completely numb. She almost couldn’t feel a thing, as she stubbed her toe against a rock hidden beneath the white powder.

“It- I think, whatever it is, Professor, that it came from somewhere below Flitwick’s office. There- it- it sounded like it was moving _up_ , Professor, to where we were.”

“And you are certain of this?” McGonagall asked.

“Yes,” Lily answered, nodding her head seriously. She considered mention the map, as well, but-

_Who has the map_? She thought in a panic. She remembered thinking Ron had it, but, now that she thought about it, Neville said during Astronomy that it was _his_ turn

_He saw somebody,_ Lily realized. _He was trying to follow them. Who was it?_

“I do wish you told us before, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said. Lily jumped from the surprise as her thoughts were interrupted. “Your suspension could have been avoided entirely with this information. Thank you for at least coming forward now.”

“You believe me then, Professor?” Lily asked. She shivered again as they trailed towards the village. She didn’t know _why_ she got so cold. It was _never_ like this at the Dursleys, or at any of the Muggle schools she attended.

“I do,” McGonagall said confidently. “You are a troublemaker like your father, of that I have no doubt. But these malicious attacks are not you. And, at the very least, it all makes logical sense.”

“It does, Professor?” Lily asked.

“You said you heard no voices during the last two attacks,” McGonagall repeated. “Based on your positioning, it makes sense. You were too high up in the castle to hear the voice, but not far enough away to escape the headache.”

Lily decided to jump on the chance.

“Professor? Where was Neville attacked?”

“The third floor,” McGonagall answered, “Although I could not possibly tell you what he was doing there. Mr. Weasley didn’t know, either. He simply slipped out without notifying anybody, well past curfew, and with a known assailant within the castle walls. I would have thought he learned his lesson after the last year.”

“I didn’t put him up to it, Professor,” Lily said quickly. Not this time, at least. _Why didn’t he wake Ron?_

“No, you’ve been quite obedient without that cloak of yours,” McGonagall said. “The Fat Lady has not reported a single instance of a student leaving after hours before last night, aside from the occasional foray from the Weasley twins.”

“The Fat Lady reports on us?” Lily asked in a shocked tone.

“All portraits have been asked to be especially attentive this year, Miss Potter,” McGonagall answered. “Or have you not been paying attention to our current circumstances?”

Lily frowned, rubbing her arms to fight off the chill. “And they haven’t seen anything, Professor?”

“Not a thing,” McGonagall answered. “Whatever it is, the Portraits cannot see it, that much is for certain. Now, Miss Potter, as this is supposed to be a punishment, I must ask you remain silent for the remainder of our journey, as hard as that may be for you.”

Lily didn’t try to argue. She could feel her teeth clattering together from the cold, now, even with Katie’s scarf wrapped around her. At least McGonagall was dragging her trunk. She needed her arms to rub some semblance of heat into her chest.

Unfortunately, that confidence didn’t last long, as she found herself wondering about the interrogation she just went through.

“P-p-p-professor?”

McGonagall sighed. “Yes, Potter, what is it?”

“M-m-m-Malfoy s-said something w-weird while I was up there, P-Professor,” Lily said.

McGonagall stopped in the snow, then turned to look at Lily with that piercing gaze of hers.

“And what, exactly, did he say?”

“He c-called me H-Harry, Professor,” Lily said. “H-he did it b-before, t-too, but I t-thought I just h-h-heard him wrong.”

McGonagall frowned. Lily shivered in place, wishing they’d at least kept moving. She needed it to keep her blood flowing.

“You have never been told?” McGonagall asked.

“T-told what, P-Professor?” Lily asked curiously.

McGonagall hesitated a moment, then began moving forward again, without so much as a word. Lily followed along silently, even more confused than she’d been before.

“It is not my place to say,” McGonagall said at last. “Although I do not know why Professor Dumbledore has not mentioned it, he must have his reasons for doing so. I will not go against him. If you truly wish to know, you should ask the Weasleys. They’ll know the story just as well as I do. Everybody who was around at the time does.”

Lily didn’t know how to feel about that answer. It didn’t solve anything.

They arrived in Hogsmeade after what felt like an eternity, and Lily felt frozen to her core. Her feet were frozen, sore, and soaked, her hands and ears aching from the cold despite the layers of protection, and she was coughing every few steps from the air hurting her lungs. She thought it was a miracle she ever reached the village at all.

The village was bustling, since it was a busy shopping day near the holidays. A few passerby stared awkwardly at the two figures coming from Hogwarts, but McGonagall waved the few off who dared to approach. Lily was certainly thankful for that, even if she was still upset at the professor overall. McGonagall led her to the town square, pausing next to the frozen fountain. Lily gladly took the chance for rest, sitting upon the trunk after McGonagall set it down.

“I don’t believe sitting on your trunk is proper Hogwarts etiquette, Miss Potter,” McGonagall said sharply. Lily almost shot her a glare, but managed to play it off at the last moment.

“We’re not at school, Professor,” she said instead. “And I’ve been suspended, anyway.”

“Even so, you are a representative of Hogwarts, and should behave like one at all times.”

Lily sighed, but she stood on her stiff feet regardless. She couldn’t even have that one thing, apparently.

“Why are we waiting here, Professor?” she asked after five minutes passed. She kept eyeing a café where customers were enjoying hot, steamy drinks by the window. She wondered if she had the time to grab one herself; she had the coin on her, for certain, even if she’d have to dig through her trunk to get at them.

“We are waiting for the Weasleys to come pick you up,” McGonagall said. She eyed the clock tower on the nearby church. “Should only be a few more minutes at the most, Miss Potter. Have patience.”

“Do they even know we’re coming, Professor?” Lily asked. “I didn’t even know I was getting suspended until an hour ago.”

“I sent word as you were packing your things,” McGonagall said. “Mrs. Weasley promised to meet us here. There she is, as a matter of fact.”

McGonagall tilted her head in the direction of the crowd. Lily’s eyes followed, and she felt a smile come on when she saw Molly Weasley making her way towards them. That smile quickly faltered once she saw the expression on Mrs. Weasley’s face; Lily had _never_ seen her look that angry before. Her face was as red as her hair. Lily felt her heart sink, and she wasn’t sure if it’d ever come back up.

“ _There_ you are,” Mrs. Weasley said loudly as she drew up in front of the two. Lily cringed away as she saw her place two firm hands on her hips. “It hasn’t even been 24 hours, and you’ve already gotten yourself into trouble? _Suspended_? What on _Earth_ did you do this time, Hazel Lily Potter?”

“I-I-I-“ Lily stuttered in fear. She looked to the bystanders for help; Mrs. Weasley was attracting a lot of attention with her outburst.

“Just you _wait_ until your father hears about this,” Mrs. Weasley said harshly as her hand reached for Lily’s ear. “Suspended! Not even Fred and George have done _that_!”

“Molly,” McGonagall said softly as she put her own hand between Mrs. Weasley’s and Lily’s appendage. “I’m afraid I didn’t have the time to fully explain. The suspension was _not_ Miss Potter’s fault.”

Mrs. Weasley looked shocked for a brief moment, the expression quickly changing to relief as she processed this new information.

“Oh, thank Merlin for that, then. Was it the twins? They didn’t get her into trouble, did they?”

McGonagall shook her head. “I’m afraid not, though I wish it were so. There has been another attack. The Governors are blaming Miss Potter for it, since they stopped upon her hospitalization and resumed immediately upon her return. She has been suspended while they conduct a full investigation into the matter.”

Mrs. Weasley looked angry again, and Lily could feel her body tense once more. She tried to make herself seem as small as possible, which wasn’t hard to do when everybody was already ignoring her presence.

“Suspended for being a _suspect_? Is that all it takes these days? Oh, Augusta better hope she doesn’t run into me anytime soon, the words I’ll have with that woman. Did you know she tried to lecture us for _two hours_ while we were getting Lily’s things? I’m sure this was all her idea, wasn’t it?”

“I’m afraid I am not yet privy to the full situation,” McGonagall said calmly. “Us professors have been promised a full debriefing by the day’s end. For now, I was told only what I needed to communicate to you.”

“I suppose Dumbledore did his best to stop it?” Molly asked, eyes flickering over to where Lily was still crouched. She was pretending to mess with her trunk.

Lily flinched from the sudden attention, nodding her head to confirm but otherwise remaining silent.

“I must be getting back to the castle,” McGonagall said as her eyes flickered over to the clock tower once more. “All staff are required to patrol the castle. I trust you can escort Miss Potter safely from here?”

“Course I can,” Molly said quickly, taking the trunk by one hand and Lily’s hidden one in the other. Lily allowed herself to be pulled up, not wanting to fight against the motion.

“Then I shall see her once the Holidays are over,” McGonagall said with a nod. “And, should we be so lucky, I shall see _you_ during the conferences in the spring.”

“Arthur and I will both be there,” Molly said with another nod. “For _all_ of them.” She said she last part while giving Lily’s hand a squeeze.

“Happy Holidays,” McGonagall said with another sharp nod. She didn’t wait for another word, but swept off in a hurry, her cloak trailing behind her in the snow.

“Ready to apparate, dear?” Molly said with a cheery smile. Lily nodded, missed what Mrs. Weasley said next, and then turned as the older woman did. In a flash, and with a pulling at Lily’s stomach, they were now standing in front of the familiar, crooked frame of the Burrow. There were no chickens running amok this time, although Lily could see a few gnomes patrolling the garden. There wasn’t any snow on the ground, and it was far warmer here than it had been moments before.

“Let’s get you inside, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said as she led Lily by the hand once more. “I’ll show you your room, then I’ll get some lunch going for the both of us, how’s that sound?”

“Fine,” Lily said quietly.

Mrs. Weasley wrenched the door open to the warm kitchen, ushering Lily in ahead of her. Lily did so, standing absentmindedly in the middle of the room as Mrs. Weasley lugged the trunk inside. It was far cleaner than the last time Lily saw it, even with the remains of an unfinished teatime sitting on the table. Mrs. Weasley was eating a scone before she left, it seemed, with the paper opened next to it. Lily’s eyes couldn’t focus enough to catch the headline. An earnest meowing was coming from nearby, and Lily passively scooped her cat into her arms, letting him snuggle into her chest.

“I’ll have to send Arthur another message, now that I know _what_ you’ve been suspended over,” she said grumpily. “Oh, he won’t be happy for _certain_. I have a feeling he’ll be dropping Augusta a visit on the way home. Do you know who was attacked, that they’re blaming you so heavily?”

“Neville,” Lily muttered.

“Oh,” Mrs. Weasley said. She hesitated, then threw her arms around Lily in a tight hug. Lily flinched again, then relaxed a bit. Weasley was squirming in her arms, and Mrs. Weasley quickly let the two of them go.

“I’ll show you to your room first, then,” Mrs. Weasley said with a sniff. “You look like you could use a good nap, you’re barely standing as it is. I think we’ll wait on that lunch, we’ll have a bigger supper instead.”

Lily nodded to everything Molly said as she followed behind, climbing the cramped stairs that creaked with every heavy step she took. Lily’s trunk made a loud _thunk_ on every board as Molly pulled it behind her. They went up two floors higher than where Lily previously stayed in Ginny’s room. She realized she never went up this high before; Ron always came down to visit her, instead, and she never even once got to see his.

“Here you are, then,” Molly said as she swung the nearest door open with a _click_. “I think I told you it was Bill’s old one. He picked up his things a couple of months ago, but he left his desk and mattress for you. Dumbledore donated an old wardrobe for you, and Ginny happily offered you a few of her posters. She said you really liked looking at them while you stayed with her. Big Gwenog Jones fan, way she tells it.”

Lily nodded as she entered the room. Mrs. Weasley placed the trunk carefully at the foot of Lily’s new bed, then turned to face the girl with a great, big smile. Lily took the chance to check her new home, wondering if she’d still be allowed to live here if they decided to change her suspension to an expulsion.

There was a small desk tucked into the corner near the door, the other side of the room almost entirely taken up by a rather large bedframe (certainly far larger than Lily had ever had before). The desk shared a wall with a wardrobe that Lily was almost certain came directly from Hogwarts (she was pretty sure she recognized the graffiti carved into the side of it, although she didn’t know what the symbol came from). Ginny donated three posters, it seemed, two of the full Holyhead Harpies team sitting right in front of the desk and larger poster of the tall, dark-skinned Gwenog Jones sitting on the ceiling above Lily’s bed, just where it had been for Ginny’s before.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Mrs. Weasley said from near the door. Lily jumped from the surprise; she never even noticed the older woman move. “Lots of unpacking to do, I know, and I’m sure you’ll want that nap. I’ll come get you when supper is ready, if you’re not up by then.”

Lily nodded, and Mrs. Weasley shot her one last smile as she closed the door behind her. Lily walked slowly over to her new bed, sitting on the firm mattress edge. She set Weasley gently on the bed next to her, and the cat curled up next to her. She pulled her boots off one by one, letting her frozen and sore toes breath as she tore the sodden socks off afterwards. She tossed the remainder of her clothes into the corner, and removed only her pajamas from inside the trunk. She slipped those on, closed the curtains on her window, crawled into bed, and stared up at the dark ceiling.

Weasley crawled into the nook she left between her arm and chest, curling into a tight ball. Lily scratched at his head absentmindedly.

“You’ve done it now,” Uncle Vernon said in her mind. “You’ll be lucky if you ever see the outside again.”

“Not my fault,” Lily muttered as she rolled over. She threw the pillow over her head to block out the light.

“Not my fault,” she said again.


	23. Making the Best of Things

Lily ate a silent breakfast with the two married Weasleys in the morning, and then spent most of the day outside in the cold. There wasn’t any snow on the ground, unlike Hogwarts, but it was still enough to numb her senses. Mrs. Weasley called her for lunch around noon, but she pretended not to hear her. She was sitting in the high branches of a tree, Weasley sleeping across her chest. This particular tree had no leaves remaining, but she didn’t mind. The sun felt good as it beat down on her, even as it set quickly the longer the day drew on.

She stayed outside, snoozing in that tree, until she saw Mr. Weasley enter the front door of the house as he returned from work, only acquiescing to the bored whining of the cat sitting upon her. He mewled again, pawing at her face as if to wake her.

“I’m up,” Lily grumbled.

She glanced back to the ground, wondering how she’d get down while carrying the cat. Weasley answered that for her, as if he could sense the question in Lily’s mind. He crawled into the hood of her crimson robe (now that she wasn’t required to wear the black school robes, she was taking full advantage of it), and Lily was forced to sit up so the cat wouldn’t be crushed. She sighed, but began the arduous process of climbing down, hitting the ground just as Mrs. Weasley called for her from the house once more.

“Lily! Suppertime!”

Lily sighed once more, pulling her robe tightly around her as the wind picked up. She was wearing Katie’s scarf today. It felt far more comfortable than her own. She’d wear her own tomorrow, though, and perhaps even bring one of her notebooks to the tree. She found them all tucked away inside her wardrobe earlier today, which was a huge relief; she hid them at Gran’s house, and was worried nobody would be able to find them. Now she was just worried that somebody might have gone through them. She was too nervous to ask.

Lily dragged her feet as she made her way to the house, Weasley jumping from her hood impatiently and running ahead. He made it through the door first. Mr. Weasley told her this morning that he installed a cat door for the feline, since he was always wanting in or out of the house, even during the coldest days. Lily hadn’t seen Trevor yet; it was possible he moved on from the property, but Mrs. Weasley swore she still heard him croaking around the house occasionally.

Both Weasleys (not counting the cat) were already sitting at the table when Lily finally pushed the door open. There were three plates set out, each with 4 plump sausages and a heaping pile of mashed potatoes. Lily noticed the plate set at the empty chair had larger portions than the others. She sat at it, silently poking at one of the pork vessels with her fork. A bit of juice ran from it as the prongs punctured the wrapping. She had no appetite.

“How was your day, Lily?” Mr. Weasley asked kindly.

“Fine,” Lily answered quietly. She bit into one of the sausages, hoping the act of chewing would prevent further questioning.

“Saw you up in that tree,” he said. “Did you get down alright? Thought I might have to go and fetch you if you didn’t come in soon.”

Lily grunted in response, taking another bite of the juicy sausage. It was far better than any sausage she’d had at Hogwarts, she had to admit, even if it didn’t do much to cheer her up. She’d still much rather be sitting at the Gryffindor table with Ron, Neville, and Katie than here. She chewed a bit slower when she realized Neville wouldn’t be there in the first place, and that was, in fact, the reason she wasn’t currently there.

“How about your day, Arthur?” Molly asked sweetly. “Get into any trouble at work today?”

“No, actually,” Arthur answered. “It was quite a nice day. Perkins and I had to get a bit of paperwork done in preparation for tomorrow’s raid.”

“A raid?” Molly said sharply, her eyes narrowing at her husband. “Who are you raiding, then?”

“Can’t say exactly,” Arthur said carefully. “We got an anonymous tip, and Perkins made the call to go for it. We’ll be safe, dear, don’t worry. A few Aurors always come along with us on these things.”

Lily’s eyes flickered over to the living room, where she spied the family clock. Ron, Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny were all still marked at school, while the two adults were at home. She wondered what her own spoon would say, if she had one. She thought she’d be firmly placed at “lost.”

“Surely you don’t have to keep it a secret from _me,_ Arthur,” Molly said in a huff.

“Sorry, dear, but best to be safe,” Arthur said. “If something goes wrong, the Aurors will be looking into it, and I don’t want them finding out I leaked something.”

Mrs. Weasley seemed to accept that answer, even if she kept her lips pursed. Lily kept eating, taking big bites and chewing slowly. Mrs. Weasley would undoubtedly make her seconds if she was still hungry, but she didn’t want to impose.

“How long will you be out?” Molly asked at last.

“Raid’s in the morning, so I should be home for supper,” Arthur answered. He perked up as he chewed his last bite of sausage, leaning forward as he swallowed (his wife hated it whenever somebody talked with food in their mouth). “Hey, what say the three of us head out for a bit of shopping on Thursday, hmm? Perhaps grab some lunch?”

“We already did our shopping, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said. She was only halfway through her own plate, always on the lookout to offer her remaining food to anybody that finished before her. She never asked her husband, of course, and just plopped a sausage on his plate without drawing attention to it.

“We need a few groceries, actually,” Mr. Weasley said. “Almost out of Floo Powder again, and we need more chicken feed.”

“Will you be able to get off?” Molly asked, pushing a bit of her potatoes onto Lily’s empty plate. Lily looked up at that, but the matriarch was staring only at her husband. She briefly considered pawning them off to her husband, but decided to suffer through them instead.

“Should be able to take a half day,” Arthur said. “I’ll meet you two at Diagon around noon, shall I?”

“What do you think, Lily?” Molly asked, offering a smile.

“Sure,” Lily said with a shrug. She would have preferred to spend the day sitting in her tree again, but she didn’t want to disappoint the two when they seemed so excited about it. She had some gifts she needed to pick up, anyway. She hoped she’d be able to visit her vault by herself. She didn’t want the Weasleys seeing it. That’d make her feel worse.

“It’s settled, then,” Arthur said with a clap of his hands. He stood, quickly sweeping up his plate before his wife could drop another sausage on it. Mrs. Weasley settled for placing it on Lily’s, instead, as she was slow on the uptake. Then she stood, taking her own plate to the sink, where she started washing the dishes. Mr. Weasley moved into the living room, taking a seat in his favorite armchair next to the roaring fireplace.

Lily finished up her sausage, then left the plate on the table, trying to make her way to the stairs as quietly as she could so she wouldn’t have to talk any more tonight. Weasley trailed behind her for a moment, then decided to hop up on his father’s lap instead, laying belly up so the man could rub it. Lily knew that was a trap; he liked to bite at your hands when you went for it.

The stairs creaked as Lily made her way up them, but nobody called for her to stay downstairs. She left her door open a crack so Weasley could make his way inside, then struck a match so she could light a candle at her desk. Her Transfiguration book was sitting open, from where she spent her previous night studying. It was hard to focus, but she needed the review. She didn’t want to work on that tonight, however, so she closed the book and tossed it over into her trunk, where it landed loudly on top of her other books.

She opened her wardrobe instead, grabbing the notebook on the top of the stack. She flipped through it, smiling fondly at the sketches and writings inside. This one was full of much earlier drawings, ones that her Aunt and Uncle surely would have burned if they found them. There was a flying motorcycle soaring through a starry night sky, a tabby cat sitting on a garden wall that she sketched one summer, and a portrait of Mrs. Figg that she did on request. It wasn’t very good. She was only five at the time. The notebook itself was a gift from the old lady. Figg had been forced to babysit her, so that the Dursleys could visit Vernon’s sister without the burden. Lily liked her well enough, even if the old house did smell funny on occasion. She gave Lily all her notebooks, always having one at the ready for whenever she came by. Once, she even asked Lily if she could keep a drawing. That made Lily cry: she didn’t like to part with any of them. Now she just felt bad about it. She still had the drawing, but Mrs. Figg had nothing to remember her by. Maybe she’d write to her, send her the drawing she’d ask for all those years ago, just to let her know that she was okay. If only she had an owl.

Lily sat on her bed as she flipped through the notebook. Her early stories weren’t very good, she had to admit, and she could barely even read her old handwriting. Her drawings got much better very quickly, at the least, the latter half she was especially proud of. They were nothing compared to what she could do now, of course. Her artwork was the one thing she got praised for in school, although there wasn’t much of that, either, since she more frequently got yelled at for doodling in class, and their art classes were cancelled when the teacher was hospitalized during Lily’s last year.

Lily got up once she finished the first notebook, placing it gently back in the wardrobe before hauling the rest up in her arms. She placed them gently on the floor next to her bed, then sat back down on the white blankets as she grabbed the top one. She reclined against her pillows, and started flipping through the newer ones.

The order of her notebooks got mixed up at some point, it seemed. While her first one ended up on top, this was her latest one, and was mostly filled with her writing. There were a few drawings she made during her last captivity at the Dursleys, but those ended after she left. She left all her pencils there, and drawing was far more difficult with quill and ink. She tried, of course, but these newer works didn’t match up to her earlier ones. She’d have to pick up some charcoal if she could find any, but she didn’t know what wizards did for erasers. Probably had a spell for it, but she didn’t want to get the Weasleys into any more trouble than she already had. She’d already pushed the rule far too much as it was.

Lily placed this one next to her, then reached for the next one. This was from she was 9 or 10, she was pretty sure, back when she was drawing or writing almost every day. Most of the drawings were of Petunia’s garden, since that was all she ever saw. There was one of a particularly friendly grass snake that Lily tried to sneak inside. Petunia caught her trying to talk to it one morning, and Lily didn’t like to remember what happened afterwards. She never saw that snake again. Vernon took it away somewhere. She never tried to follow up on it. That would only have made things worse.

Lily was halfway through the notebook when she found another portrait, this one of a schoolgirl named Clara that Lily was almost friends with. She couldn’t remember what she did to offend the girl, but they had a nasty falling out, and it hurt Lily’s head and heart to think about. Dudley’s bullying was at its worst after that, since all the other students gave up and refused to help her anymore. Clara even joined in, being one of the worst offenders. She remembered hiding in the closet multiple times during breaks, crying to herself in the dark. Lily tore this one out, crumpled it, and then tossed it into the bin next to her desk. She didn’t need to feel _more_ miserable right now, and she shook her head to force the memories back inside.

Lily heard a tapping at her door as she closed this notebook. She tried to ignore it, but when it repeated, she let out a sigh, and got up from her bed. She shuffled over to the door, wrenching it open, only to find the hallway outside empty. She could hear the married couple talking downstairs, although she couldn’t make out the contents. They couldn’t have possibly gotten down there so quickly. She would have heard them.

She heard the tapping again, and this time realized it came from behind. She turned towards her window as she shut her door again, spotting a large, gray owl tapping its beak against the window, holding up a thick parcel on its leg. Lily gasped in surprise, then rushed over eagerly, throwing the window open for the bird. It flew towards her desk, scattering a few stray papers with the beating of its wings. She scrambled to get them off the floor, just so she wouldn’t trample over them in the middle of the night, and tossed them onto her bed.

Lily grabbed the biscuit tin she nicked from the cupboard the last night from her bedside, the owl turning its head curiously as it stared at her. It almost nipped her fingers off as she handed one over, and she quickly sucked on her sore forefinger while she untied the parcel with her other. The owl flew off immediately after, having finished its snack. Lily shut the window immediately after to block out the cold, wishing she’d been a bit less eager to please the bird; she’d have to use Errol to write back, now, which meant asking the Weasleys to borrow the aged avian. She really hated having to use him. She was always positive he’d die during his next flight.

Lily took the letter on top of the parcel first, smiling as she read the three lines in Katie’s handwriting.

_Lily Potter_

_The Burrow_

_Ottery St. Catchpole_

Lily gave the parcel an idle shake as she tore the letter open with her other hand. She pulled the chair from her desk, not wanting to rearrange the items on her bed, and sat at it. She was used to far thicker letters, coming from Mrs. Weasley, but she had no earthly idea what Katie could have sent. She was just happy to have gotten one so quickly.

_Dear Lily_

_We talked with Ron, just like you said, and he let us in on what you’ve all been talking about. I haven’t gotten a chance to watch any of them today, and I don’t think any of us will get one anytime soon. They’ve got the school on lockdown, we can only travel in groups with a prefect or Professor._

_Speaking of which, that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope, told Ron to let you know that she’s going to be personally escorting all club members from their dorm to the sessions. He said you’d know what that meant, I didn’t even know you joined a club._

_Speaking of Ron, he told me to send you a packet of paper for him, since I was writing you anyway. I put that in the parcel, along with your Christmas present. I had to beg Hooch for it; she normally likes to wipe their memory and reuse them, but I got her to agree. Make sure you bring it to school with you, it’ll be useful in practice. Quidditch Captains have Prefect authority as well, so Wood will be taking us to practices._

_Don’t forget to feed Monty a biscuit before he leaves. I don’t want him snapping at me later. My fingers are already sore enough, thank you very much._

_Merry Christmas!_

_Katie Bell_

“She got something from Hooch?” Lily asked herself.

The only thing she could think of was the Madame’s referee whistle, but that didn’t make any sense, either. What did that have to do with memory? Lily couldn’t stand the curiosity; she placed the letter aside and tore the brown wrapping from the box. The Marauder’s Map was on top, and she was certainly happy to see it safe and sound. When she took that out, she let out a gasp as she saw a glimpse of gold.

Katie sent her a Golden Snitch as a Christmas present. It _would_ prove useful in practice, since Hooch never let any teams borrow one outside of a game. She wondered what Katie did to get this one. It felt cool in her hand, and the wings flittered out as she grabbed it. The Snitch quickly flew into the air, buzzing around Lily’s head energetically.

She went to snatch it, and it flew out of her grasp before quickly darting back in towards her head. She got it, that time, and the Snitch tried to pull itself out of her grasp. She let it go again, and it started flittering around her once more. She let it fly a bit further this time before grabbing it, then releasing it again. It didn’t seem to ever fly too far from her, unlike the Snitches she’d gone after during real matches. She wondered why that was. She also wondered how to get it to stop flapping around. She could easily see the constant buzzing getting annoying.

She didn’t have to wait long for that answer, thankfully, as the Snitch quietly tucked its wings in after Lily ignored it for a few minutes, laying itself gently near Lily’s hand on the desk. She left it there, for now, and crossed back over to her bed so she could finish going over her notebooks. She wanted to sketch it, now that she had the chance, but she didn’t have the materials for it yet. She was starting to feel better about accepting the shopping trip, now, even if she would have preferred going by herself. She wondered when they’d learn to apparate; she’d be able to sneak off more often if she could do it.

Lily woke up late the next morning, one of her notebooks still sitting in her lap, still wearing her robes from yesterday. There was another plate of food sitting on her desk waiting for her, courtesy of a very polite Mrs. Weasley. Lily ate first, then returned the plate to the kitchen sink after showering and dressing in a fresh set of purple robes.

Lily could hear Mrs. Weasley fussing about in the garden as she snuck her way out of the house (the swearing of the gnomes she was tossing could carry for a kilometer), holding Weasley in one arm and a copy of _Ancient Myths and Legends of Magical Britain_ in the other. She was supposed to return it back to library in November, right after the Quidditch match, but it completely slipped her mind due to obvious reasons. She’d have to apologize to Madame Pince once she was back for real. That was, of course, assuming that the librarian didn’t hunt her down first.

She turned around the opposite side of the house, ignoring Weasley trying to squirm his way out of her grasp. The cat might be too afraid to enter the garden alone, but he was willing to stand up the gnomes when somebody else was present. She was forced to let him down once she reached her tree, but she knew he’d come join her eventually. He was fully capable of climbing the tree himself, it was getting down that was the feline’s issue.

Lily cheated to get the book up, breaking her promise to not cast magic that she had made only to herself. She had to levitate the book up after she’d safely perched high above the ground. It was that or leave it down below, and she didn’t think Madame Pince would appreciate that. At the very least, there was no snow on the ground, so the cover and contents were not damaged by the journey. Lily pulled Katie’s scarf tightly around her neck (another self-promise she’d broken), snuggling into the tree’s branches to get more comfortable, then used the light of the sun to read a passage on Merlin, Arthur, and the Enchantress Morgana. She ignored Mrs. Weasley’s calls for lunch again, now that Weasley was working his way up the tree to join her.

She was forced to stop reading once the sun was set, even though Mr. Weasley was not yet back from his day of work. She let the tome rest on her outstretched legs, not wanting to disturb the warm cat laying on her chest. Weasley twitched as she scratched him behind the ears. She wondered if Lavender would still want her to bring him back to Hogwarts, now that the attacks were getting more serious. She couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him behind again, though, now that they were finally reunited, so she quickly decided Lavender’s opinion on the issue didn’t matter. It was her choice to make. She’d likely leave him, though; the thought of him getting killed by a monster was worse than the loneliness she’d feel without him.

Lily saw Mr. Weasley walking down the driveway towards the lit up house, and took that as her cue to begin the climb down. She gave Weasley a firm shake to wake him, and the cat dutifully climbed into her hood so she could carry him down. He yawned as he curled up inside it, and that did well to warm Lily’s heart. She didn’t fancy trying to levitate the book down in the dark, so she used her scarf to fasten it to her, tying both around her neck and shoulders. She didn’t know if her knot would hold for long, so she made the descent faster than she had previously, and almost slipped and tumbled halfway down. Katie’s scarf was a bit torn once she touched the ground, she noticed as she untied the book. That made Lily feel terrible, but she settled on giving Katie her own instead. She could ask Mrs. Weasley to fix this one up for her, and then wear it as her own. She didn’t think Katie would mind the obvious fix, but she didn’t want to risk the disappointment.

“There you are, Lily,” Molly said in surprise as Lily made it to the door. She was just about to open it when the older woman wrenched it open first. “I was just about to call for you, supper’s ready. You go wash up first, dear, you’ve been outside all day.”

“Okay,” Lily agreed quietly. She gave a solemn wave to Mr. Weasley as she passed. He was already sitting at the table, clearly exhausted after a long day of work. He didn’t even notice Lily’s wave, nor did he return it. He was too busy rubbing at his eyes, his glasses placed on the table in front of him.

She hauled her book to her room, first, then washed her hands and face in the washroom. She had a zit growing on the side of her nose that she decided to ignore, although she was _very_ tempted to pop it. Lavender always warned each of the girls to not do so, lest they get scars, and Lily was (reluctantly) willing to listen to the advice. Nobody had better beauty advice than Lavender Brown. Lily even let the girl do her makeup occasionally, if she could be bothered to get up early enough to do so. Lavender normally only had to the time to manage herself. She liked to sleep in until the last possible moment.

Lily didn’t talk much during supper again; she listened to Mr. Weasley talk about his raid. They went for a Muggle warehouse in London and confiscated 42 cursed washing machines that were being sold on an open market. He lamented that they’d have to track down a few buyers in the ensuing weeks; there were _supposed_ to be 65 there. Lily had a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Weasley brought one home with him, judging from the shifty way he kept glancing around the kitchen every time Mrs. Weasley asked a prodding question. Lily hoped the curse was at least removed first.

Lily tried writing a bit later that night to pass some time, but her mind simply couldn’t come up with the proper words. She struggled to fill even a single paragraph and gave up on it soon after. She tried drawing, instead, but she was out of practice and couldn’t take back any mistakes she made. She gave that up out of frustration as well, tossing the half-finished portrait of Weasley into the bin. She settled for laying in bed and trying to get through more of her book, instead. She was starting to doze off when she came upon a passage that snapped her back to attention.

_The Chamber of Secrets_

_According to all known records, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded in the year 990 by Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. The tales of the founders can be found further on (see page 572 for more info), but one myth must be acknowledged and discussed here, although not much information is known on the topic._

_Salazar Slytherin believed only pure bloods should be allowed to attend Hogwarts, this much is well-known and undisputed. It is one of the core tenants of the House, and former students confirm that the Slytherin’s common room uses passwords that enforce this ideal. This is the issue that would eventually result in the death of Godric Gryffindor and the removal of Salazar Slytherin._

_But, supposedly, before Slytherin left Hogwarts in shame, he constructed a secret chamber in the deep dungeons of the school. A Chamber of Secrets, if you will. As the tale goes, only Slytherin’s true heir, one with his talent and ideals, will be able to locate the entrance and unleash the horror left within. As to what the Chamber actually contains, well, nobody can say for sure. Hogwarts has been searched thoroughly over the years, and no trace of the Chamber of Secrets was ever found._

_Descendants of the great Salazar Slytherin have, undoubtedly, attended the school in the days since his passing, but the Chamber has never been opened once during its storied history. There were rumours of the Chamber having been opened during the reign of Headmaster Dippet due to the death of a student, but the cause was found to be an unrelated accident and the student responsible was expelled for his negligence. The name of both victim and culprit have been expunged from records, due to both being minors at the time._

_And that’s all that is known about the Chamber of Secrets. Supposedly, it houses a great monster that will find and kill students who are not the purest of blood. Supposedly, Slytherin’s heir can find it to enact his will, and remove those with dirty blood from the premises by force. Supposedly, the Chamber even exists!_

_That, of course, remains highly doubtful._

Lily let out a disappointed sigh, and then closed the book in her lap. The whole book was a disappointment, to be honest. It barely explained anything at all. She was only reading it to have something to do. It would figure that the _one_ book she found that mentions the Chamber at all would be so thoroughly worthless. She briefly thought about reading the chapter on the founders, but she found she didn’t care enough. She blew out the candle at her bedside, snuggled up into her blankets with Weasley, and went to sleep.

Lily actually woke up to Mrs. Weasley entering her room the next morning, although she chose to pretend that she didn’t. She heard the mother place another plate on her desk, felt Weasley stir from her bed and follow after her, and then heard the door click shut afterwards. Lily thought about going back to sleep, but her stomach rumbled as soon as she smelled the bacon wafting from nearby.

She chose her emerald green robe today, but she noticed it was starting to feel a bit smaller than it used to. Her ankles were showing a bit. That gave her a smile; she was worried she’d completely stopped growing despite Molly’s reassurances to the contrary. Her other robes still felt fine, but they got those slightly larger to begin with. She changed out of this one and threw on a pale-yellow robe, instead. She didn’t have a hat to match with it, but she hardly ever wore one anyway. She grabbed her money from her trunk, tucking it safely inside her robe with her wand and the map.

“You ready to go?” Mrs. Weasley asked from the table as Lily came down to return her plate. She was having a spot of tea while reading the paper, a scone sitting half-eaten in front of her.

“Yes,” Lily answered as she washed her plate off in the sink.

“We’ll have to pick up a few things for Christmas dinner,” Mrs. Weasley said. “I think we’ll do that down in the village, first, and then meet up with Arthur afterwards.”

“Do we have to walk?” Lily asked. She’d much rather use any other form of transportation. The walk over the summer took forever, and that was when it _wasn’t_ freezing outside. There were even a few flakes of snow finally falling from the sky on this particular day.

“No, there’s a spot in town that all us wizards use to apparate,” Mrs. Weasley said. “It’s just the two of us, so I think we’ll manage.”

“How many wizards are around here?” Lily asked as she leaned against the counter so Mrs. Weasley could finish her scone. She beat her hands on the counter to a rhythm. She had no idea what it came from, but she recognized it from _somewhere_.

“Us, the Fawcetts, Diggorys, and Lovegoods,” she answered after sipping from her cup. “All nice people, but they like to keep to themselves. Arthur works with Diggory, though, says he’s a nice man. Works in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They have a lot of crossover. You wouldn’t believe how many Muggles accidentally buy an enchanted object for their pets.”

Lily grunted, drumming her fingers on the countertop a bit more chaotically. She wanted to get going, to get this day over with. She wondered if she’d be able to find that charcoal in the Muggle village. It was awful small, and she wasn’t sure if they’d have art supplies. Perhaps in the paper store? She noticed that one during the summer. She’d never even heard of a paper store before then, but it seemed plausible.

“Anything you’d like to look for while we’re out, dear?” Molly asked as if she could read Lily’s thoughts.

“Err,” Lily stammered. She finally had her chance to speak up, but she couldn’t find the words to do so. “Is- I don’t- do you happen to know if they sell any art supplies?”

“No need to be nervous, dear. They might have some in Diagon, but I’m afraid we don’t have any Muggle money to check Catchpole.”

Lily grunted in response again. She had a feeling wizard art supplies were going to be far more expensive than Muggle ones. She just hoped she could convince the Weasleys not to pay for her.

The apparition point was just a small, abandoned shop on the outskirts of town. There were a few creepy mannequins filling the area, but it was otherwise devoid of life. There was a large window at the front through which they could gave out into the sleepy village roads. Nobody paid any attention to the two women as they stopped out into the daylight streets. When Lily tried to glance back through the window, she found just a building wall, with no glass to speak of. The door they just came out of clicked shut, and when she tried to pull at the handle, it wouldn’t budge.

“You have to know the password, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said kindly. “Won’t let you in, otherwise. Come along, now, we have to see a man about a turkey.”

They spent an hour milling about the various shops in town. Lily wondered how they’d even pay for any of the food, since Mrs. Weasley said earlier they had no Muggle money, but the grocer winked at Lily as the redheaded woman slid him some wizarding coin.

“You never told me you lot had another daughter, Molly,” he said with a hearty chuckle. “Only ever brought the one to see me. Shouldn’t she be in school?”

“She’s on Holiday, Harold,” Molly said in response, trying to match the other man’s energy.

“Before the rest of your kids?” Harold asked suspiciously. “Go to a different school, then? Blimey, she isn’t a squib, is she? I thought you and Arthur better than that, hiding a-“

Mrs. Weasley leaned forward. “She’s Hazel Potter, Harold, she’s staying with us this year. Dumbledore let her come home early to adjust to everything, and she offered to come shopping with me.”

“Oh,” Harold said, eyes growing wide as they suddenly found Lily’s scar. “I thought the papers said she was a boy? Harry?”

“Oh, Harold,” Mrs. Weasley said, “They retracted that ages ago. Don’t you get the Prophet?”

“Not since the war ended,” Harold said. “Sorry about that, really, I should have known.”

Lily looked away sheepishly, suddenly finding the passersby outside the butchery very interesting.

“Not a problem, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said kindly. “Do you think you can exchange some coins for us? Lily, here, wanted to stop by another shop.”

Lily walked forward quickly, before the Weasley woman could use her own money, and set a dozen Galleons on the counter from her own poach. Harold whistled in awe, but took the coin. Lily received, in return, quite a few more pounds than she’d been expecting, and certainly more than she’d ever gotten from the Dursleys.

“Almost emptied the register,” Harold muttered. He winked at her again as he dropped the Galleons in a separate slot.

“What’s a squib?” Lily asked as they finally left the shop. Having paper money in her pocket felt very strange. She was used to the weight of coins.

“Has Ronald not explained that to you, yet?” Mrs. Weasley said sharply. “I would have thought it’d come up, since that caretaker of yours is one. Squib are nonmagical folk born to magical families, Lily, like the opposite of your Muggleborn friends.”

“Oh,” Lily said quietly. She thought she might have a vague memory of Ron trying to explain that to her before. She wondered what her life would be like right now if she’d been born one. She probably never would have gotten that letter from Hogwarts, which means she’d still be with the Dursleys, assuming she was still alive at all.

“Harold is one,” Mrs. Weasley continued as they made their way back down the street. “That’s why he took the Sickles. We all have to get our food from him or grow it ourselves, he’s the only one that’ll take it.”

“Why don’t you just use Muggle money?” Lily asked.

“Don’t know how it works,” Mrs. Weasley answered. “Besides, Harold could use the money. He’s a good man, but he doesn’t get very many Muggle customers. Says they’re weirded out by his strange clientele.”

Lily blushed at that; she was still wearing her yellow wizard robe, but it didn’t seem like anybody was staring at them. Perhaps they were used to seeing some weirdos walking around in strange clothes. Mrs. Weasley’s were a bit more gawdy, being made in an older fashion. Lily’s didn’t have anywhere near as many frills, and she was thankful for that. She thought it looked ridiculous, to be perfectly frank. She preferred her more sleek ones, by far.

“Why did he think my name is Harry?” Lily asked. “Malfoy’s dad said something familiar. It bothers me.”

Mrs. Weasley thought for a moment before answering.

“I don’t quite remember, to be honest. Paper said you were Harry, then retracted it a year later. I’ll have to ask Arthur, he might remember more. Anywhere else you’d like to stop, dear?”

They dropped the food off at home, along with a pack of ballpoint pens (purchased as a gift for Mr. Weasley) and some pencils (which would almost certainly work much better than the quills Lily had been using prior, much to her excitement), very briefly paused to say hello to Weasley, then apparated back off to Diagon Alley. They popped in right in front of Florean Fortesque’s, which Lily was amazed to find was still open, and was even still receiving customers. She briefly considered visiting herself, but she decided she wasn’t in the mood for ice cream when it was this cold.

“Anywhere in particular you’d like to go first, dear?” Molly asked, hand still clutched onto Lily’s. She pulled it free as she thought, staring at the buildings around them.

“Gringotts,” she answered, nodding towards the great bank. “I need to make a withdrawal.”

“Have your key?”

“Yes,” Lily answered.

“Let’s be off, then,” Mrs. Weasley said, leading the charge forward through the crowd. Lily got a few strange looks as she followed behind, but she tried to pay them no mind. She couldn’t help but notice that Mrs. Weasley, for once, refused to pay for everything else. She didn’t know whether or not to take that as a good sign.

The Gringotts Goblins were just as pleasant as always. They led Lily and her companion towards her vault without complaint, after making sure to register her new wand for easier identification. Lily blushed at that, but only because she was hoping that incident would be forgotten by now. Mrs. Weasley gave Lily a pat on the shoulder. Lily tucked her bag of coins into her robe _before_ climbing back into the minecart, this time. Mrs. Weasley stayed in the cart, and Lily happened to notice that she was pointedly avoiding looking into her vault. She wondered how easy it’d be to slip a few coins into the woman’s purse, if only to help them out a little.

After Gringotts, they ran to the bookstore, where Lily purchased herself a nice, illustrated tome on magical creatures as well as a smaller, less interesting guide to Ancient Runes, a tome on magical history for Hermione (who was, to this day, the only student to ever enjoy History of Magic) and a book on magical law enforcement for Percy (who was always far too much of a stickler for Lily’s taste). She couldn’t’ find anything on Arithmancy, other than the textbooks, so she decided to leave that for next year. Mrs. Weasley didn’t ask any questions. Lily couldn’t help but feel that the woman was being unusually quiet, but she figured it wasn’t a big deal, considering how little talking she’d done the last few days. Still, though, she kept catching the woman smiling sadly at her, and that made her feel bad for reasons she couldn’t comprehend.

She managed to sneak off to the Quidditch store when Mrs. Weasley wasn’t looking, and managed to hide four suspiciously long, thin packages among the other things she bought, as well as a signed Chudley Cannons robe for Ron. That, thankfully, was actually very cheap, since nobody wanted Chudley Cannons memorabilia. The shopkeeper seemed happy that somebody finally got rid of the thing. Mrs. Weasley was waiting for her outside upon her exit, so she must not have been as stealthy as she thought she was. Still, though, Mrs. Weasley didn’t go out of her way to chat. Lily didn’t mind this time, though; that expenditure cost her most of the money she withdrew, and she bought them all at a _discount_.

As they walked past a storefront carrying magical plants, Lily briefly remembered that she still needed to get something for Neville. She was almost inside when she remembered, and turned away sadly, now walking far more slowly as she trailed behind Mrs. Weasley’s lead.

“Got all the gifts done, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked at last as they stopped in front of a small pub.

“No,” Lily answered. “I still need something for you and-“

“I told you already, dear, you don’t need to get us a thing,” Mrs. Weasley said sweetly. “Really, we just appreciate the company. Don’t mind us one bit.”

Lily nodded in defeat. She had something for Mr. Weasley, at least, but she was almost certain the wife would refuse anything she tried.

“Where’s the art store?” she asked instead. Maybe she’d draw a portrait of the two of them, instead. It wouldn’t look very good in cheap pencil, but she needed to get back into practice before using the better tools.

“Down there,” Molly answered as she pointed further down the road, the same direction they were already heading. “But we have to wait for Arthur, first, he said to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron.”

“Where’s that?” Lily asked.

“Dear,” Mrs. Weasley said nicely, “We’re standing in front of it.”

“Oh,” Lily said.

She felt her face flush as she looked up at the sign, confirming that they were, in fact, standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron. She briefly remembered Gran insulting the place before, and she now knew the reason for Gran’s obstinance. It was a pub, to be sure, and if the windows above were any indication, it also had rooms for rent. It appeared a bit shabby, though. Lily didn’t mind, but Gran was always a bit of a snob.

“We can head inside, if you’d like,” Mrs. Weasley offered. “I can order for Arthur, I know what he likes.”

“We can wait,” Lily said. She leaned against the building’s wall, setting her bags down on the ground so she didn’t have to hold them. She almost sat down next to them, but heard a voice in her head (suspiciously like Gran’s) telling her not to get her robes dirty or there’d be an issue. There was a long, awkward pause as the two ladies stood near each other, neither one speaking a word. Lily could feel herself starting to doze off.

“Have you given any thought as to what classes you’ll be taking next year?” Molly asked at last.

“Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes,” Lily said.

“Bill took Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, himself,” Molly said, nodding in encouragement “I could ask him to send his old notes, if you’d like. He still uses them in his job. He’s a curse breaker for Gringotts, working in Egypt.”

“That’d be nice,” Lily said.

“Why the three, though?” Mrs. Weasley asked. “Not that it’s not allowed, you can take them all if you want, but most students only go for the two. Percy and Bill took them all, of course, but they are certainly exemplary. I took Magical Creatures and Divination, myself.”

“Seemed fun,” Lily answered with a shrug. She thought for a moment longer, and then decided to give a better answer just to be nice. “And Flitwick said I needed Arithmancy and Ancient Runes if I wanted to take Spell Development in sixth year.”

“You’re interested in advanced classes, then?” Mrs. Weasley said, latching onto the topic eagerly. “The twins have given up on it, I’m afraid, but Bill managed to take a couple himself, and Charlie specialized in Care of Magical Creatures. Percy went into Magical Law, he wants to work in the ministry with his father. Any thought of what you’d like to do?”

“No,” Lily answered truthfully. She didn’t even know what wizards _did_ for work, other than the Ministry or run a shop. “Maybe Quidditch.”

“Charlie could have played for England, himself,” Mrs. Weasley said, “But he turned it down to take that position in Romania, instead. I’ve heard you’re quite good, though, so maybe you’ll get offered the same. You should still try for some OWLs, though; you don’t need them for Quidditch, but they’ll help once you choose to retire.”

Lily nodded, not absorbing any of this information. Quidditch was just the first thing that entered her brain, she didn’t know if she actually wanted to _play_ it. She couldn’t see herself joining the Chudley Cannons, for sure, no matter how much they offered to pay her.

“Bill and Percy both managed to earn 12 a piece, bless them,” Molly continued on. “I don’t know _where_ they found the time for all those classes, but we’re quite proud of them. You could probably swing it yourself, if you want to give Divination and Muggle Studies a shot, too.”

“Maybe,” Lily answered. She didn’t much like the thought of knowing her future, and she _certainly_ didn’t like the idea of taking every single class. She already wanted to drop a couple as it was, and she was about to take three more in the next year.

“Arthur wants one of you to take Muggle Studies quite badly, to be honest with you, dear,” Mrs. Weasley whispered quietly, leaning much closer to Lily. “It wasn’t offered when we were at school, you see, and he’s _dying_ to know what it’s all about. Percy and Bill told him what they could, but I don’t think he quite understands it.”

“I’ll think about it,” Lily said knowing full well she wasn’t going to be taking it. Mrs. Weasley seemed satisfied, though, and she nodded at the confirmation.

“Ah, there’s Arthur, now,” she said excitedly, pointing towards the balding, portly man striding towards them with an aged briefcase. He looked like he’d had a long day, even though he was just getting off for lunch. Lily felt a bit sorry for him. She hoped that whatever it chose it didn’t leave her feeling quite so _empty_.

“Sorry about the wait,” Arthur said as he pulled up next to them, eyes briefly flickering towards Lily’s loaded bags, “Had a lot of work to do before I could slip out early.”

“Do you need to head back, dear?” Molly asked, placing a hand on her husband’s.

“No, Perkins said he’d cover for me,” Arthur said with a relieved smile. “He asked me to pass on his season’s greetings, too. Said he really enjoyed the fudge.”

“I don’t remember making him any fudge,” Molly said.

“I passed him mine,” Arthur said sheepishly. “Couldn’t stand the way he kept eyeing the tin. Said you made it for him. He didn’t seem to notice half of it was already missing.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to make him some next year, then,” Molly said. She glanced over at where Lily was still leaning against the Leaky Cauldron wall. “Shall we head inside, then?”

“Yes, of course,” Arthur said at once, snapping back into action. He pushed ahead, holding the door to the pub open for the two ladies. Lily went in last, after gathering up her things from the ground. Mr. Weasley looked like he wanted to help, but she preferred carrying them herself, this time around.

Arthur lead the way over to the bar, taking a seat near the edge. Molly took the seat next to her husband, so Lily took the seat at the very end, where nobody else could sit next to her. She kept her bags tucked next to her legs, wondering if she was even allowed to sit up here; she’d never been ‘out’ before. The Dursleys refused to take her, and Gran just didn’t like leaving the house very often. Her first experience was at Clutterbucke’s, but that was a far nicer place. The Cauldron looked a lot better inside, to be sure. In here, it mostly just looked old, but judging from the sign above the bar that read “Since 1517,” that was obviously a true statement. The pub was also rather crowded; they only sat here at the bar because all the tables were taken.

Lily ordered some fish and chips from the friendly barkeep, mostly because she’d never gotten a chance to try it, who didn’t at all seem to mind that she was sitting there. His eyes briefly flickered over her scar, but she thought she was starting to get used to it; it no longer bothered her nearly as much, as long as people didn’t ask about it. This man, at least, seemed aware enough not to, even if he was clearly excited to have her sitting there. He paid a lot more attention to their side of business than the others.

Lily thought the fish here was much better than Clutterbucke’s and didn’t understand at all what Gran was complaining about. It came with a house made tartar, which Lily thought was absolutely fabulous. She even dipped her chips into it. She didn’t pay any attention to what the adults were eating; they were too busy talking about Mr. Weasley’s workday. She did notice Arthur had a couple of pints with his meal, though, although it didn’t seem to affect him any. Mrs. Weasley just drank water, while Lily had a glass of pumpkin juice, even if she was sick of it. She just wanted something flavored.

They left the pub after a long lunch, everybody seemingly satisfied. The two Weasleys walked ahead of Lily, arm in arm, still chatting about mundane things. They seemed to be having fun, at the least. Lily was happy to let them have that. She hoped Mrs. Weasley would remember about the art store, though.

Unfortunately, it seemed to have slipped her mind, as they returned home without visiting it. Lily retreated to her room shortly after, presumably to wrap her gifts, and took the time to draft up a quick letter to Hermione.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I tried to stop at an art store while we were out today, but the Weasleys forgot all about it. Can you pick me up some charcoal and a nice eraser over the Holiday? I could use a sketchbook, too, I’ve always just used my notebooks. I’ll pay you back when I see you, I have a bit more Muggle money than I know what to do with._

_Happy Holidays,  
Lily Potter_

That seemed good enough, and she really needed to send this letter off before Hermione left Hogwarts tomorrow morning. She snuck off to where the Weasleys kept Errol, and sent the delirious bird off, hoping he’d find his way there without dying. That was always a risk with Errol. With that task done, all that was left was to _actually_ wrap up her gifts.

Lily slipped downstairs once she was done, placing all her gifts under the already very crowded tree in the living room. It was as far away from the fireplace as they could get it, thankfully, and looked spectacularly gaudy, just as all proper trees should. She preferred it by far compared to how Petunia used to decorate hers with some simple tinsel and lights, with hardly an ornament to spare. Most of the ones on this tree looked handmade and hand painted, and one even had Ron’s name painted on it. It looked particularly childish, Lily thought, with its bright orange streaks. It looked like tried to imitate his favorite Quidditch team, but just didn’t have the proper ability for it. The blurry figures looked like they were struggling to fly around. She was certain one almost fell from his broom as she watched.

“Do we have any paint?” Lily asked from her crouched position. Mr. Weasley looked up from his armchair, where he was reading the paper. He seemed surprised that Lily was even in the room.

“Might have some up in the office,” he said. “Did you want to paint an ornament? I know Molly keeps a few extras around, just in case the kids want to.”

“I was going to fix Ron’s up,” Lily said, pointing to the shoddy one. “But I could just make him a new one. I don’t think M- Mrs. Weasley would like me painting over his.”

Arthur smiled at that. “No, definitely not. I think she’d likely kill the both of us. I’ll go fetch them for you, why don’t you go have some cocoa in the meantime? Molly’s fixing some in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Lily agreed with another shrug. Cocoa seemed nice; it was rather chilly in here, even with the fire going. She got up from the floor as Mr. Weasley stood from his chair, striding into the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley promptly filled a cup with cocoa for Lily without needing to ask, and then attempted to have a chat with the girl as they sat together in the kitchen. She asked mostly the same questions Lily already answered and got the same noncommittal questions. Lily got the sense that she had no idea what to talk with her about. Mr. Weasley brought the paints down shortly after, and Mrs. Weasley got genuinely excited about the prospects.

“The kids haven’t wanted to paint one in ages!” she said as she hurried to grab the rest of the supplies.

Mr. Weasley didn’t paint one with them, even when his wife kept trying to push one on him, but he did sit and chat while the other two worked. Lily appreciated it; it kept the attention from herself, so she could work in relative peace. She ended up making two; one depicting a Chudley Cannon Seeker diving after the Golden Snitch, and another for herself, of the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team playing against Slytherin. The second was far more difficult; she had to use a smaller brush for the finer details, and she worked on it for a _very_ long time. The magical paints and brushes made it easier to work, though; she wasn’t sure she could have pulled it off at all with Muggle tools. She did put far more effort into herself and Katie, though. The others she put into the background after deciding she really didn’t feel like spending much longer. It was quite late by the time she finished, and the two adults were very clearly eager for bed, but refused to say anything about it until she was done. She tried not to feel bad about keeping them up; they could easily just head on up and let her sit here by herself. She wouldn’t have minded.

“You’re quite good, you know,” Mr. Weasley said sleepily as she finally started packing up.

“Thanks,” Lily said nervously. She couldn’t tell if he was being sincere. The kids at school liked to pretend, and then ruin whatever it was she had been working on.

“You know,” Mrs. Weasley added, “Maybe you should consider being a professional painter. There’s lots of money in it, if you’re really good.”

“The pure-blood families pay a lot of money for portraits,” Mr. Weasley agreed. “And the Ministry is commissioning works all the time.”

“How do you make them move?” Lily asked. Her ornaments were stationary, while the ones on the tree were animated.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Weasley said. “Most people pay to have them animated. We’ll get them done up for next year, though. They’ll be a bit backed up this time of year, never get ‘em done in time. Best to wait for the off season.”

Lily decided to ask Flitwick when she got back to school; he’d know, certainly, and he might even be willing to teach her.

“Do you paint often?’ Mr. Weasley asked.

Lily looked around at the two adults nervously. They both seemed to be genuinely interested, smiling kindly at her. She could take the chance, surely.

“I- I used to draw a lot and- and I did a bit of painting, too, when I could,” Lily said at last, “But I- I stopped when I started Hogwarts. I didn’t have any paints on me, and drawing with a quill and ink was too hard. Kept messing up.”

“Oh!” Mrs. Weasley said suddenly. “Oh, dear, I’m so sorry, I completely forgot!”

“Forgot what, Molly?” Arthur asked.

“She wanted to stop at an art store at Diagon, Arthur, but it completely slipped my mind!” Mrs. Weasley said. Lily looked over at her; she seemed genuinely remorseful about it.

“It’s okay,” Lily decided to say. “I just- I just thought I’d pick it up again, that’s all. But Ron and Neville didn’t want to join the Art Club with me, so I probably wouldn’t anyway. I got some pencils, though, just to- to practice. Just in case.”  
Both adults looked horrified at that, exchanging a look with one another.

“Now listen here, Lily,” Mrs. Weasley said as she took charge. “Don’t you let somebody talk you out of doing something you want to do. If you want to draw, draw! If you want to paint, paint!”

“She’s right, Lily,” Arthur agreed. “All that matters is that you’re doing what you’re happy with.”

“I-“ Lily started. She could hear Uncle Vernon in her head, trying to discourage her from these fleeting fantasies. “I’ll think about it.”

“We’ll have stop somewhere on the way home tomorrow, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said. “We’ll get them for you, Lily, don’t worry, it’s my fault for forgetting, or you’d already have them”

“You don’t have to do that,” Lily said quickly “Really, I was going to-“

“Consider it a Christmas present,” Mr. Weasley interrupted gently. “I’m sure the boys will complain, but Ginny likes looking around, even if she doesn’t like doing it herself. Do you want to come with us to pick them up?”

“No,” Lily said after a long pause. She didn’t feel like being stuck in a long car ride with the entire Weasley family right now; there’s no way she’d be able to avoid or ignore every question the twins or Ron or Ginny would ask her, and she just _knew_ Percy already had some sort of speech prepared for her.

“You can stay and watch the house, then,” Mrs. Weasley said. “Just make sure you feed the chickens, dear. They’ll get upset if you don’t.”

“Okay,” Lily said. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was anger those monsters. She’d learned that lesson by now.

“We should head to bead, Molly,” Arthur said with a big yawn as he stood. “It’s getting late.”

“I have to clean up down here first, Arthur,” Molly said instead, standing and starting to clear off the table.

“I’ll do it, Mrs. Weasley,” Lily offered. “I’m not tired yet, really.”

Mrs. Weasley glanced over at her, then nodded. “Alright. Normally I’d argue, but I can’t say any of the other kids have ever _volunteered_ to clean something. It’s a nice change of pace”

“Goodnight,” Lily called after the two. They returned it as they went up the stairs. Lily stayed at the table until she heard their door click shut a few floors above.

She spent the next 30 minutes cleaning off the table and surrounding area; she got paint on the floor, somehow, and couldn’t get it off no matter how hard she scrubbed. Eventually she gave up and used magic, hoping the Weasleys wouldn’t come down and see her. She left the ornaments on the counter to dry, sitting on a towel, then went upstairs herself, more than ready for a good night’s sleep. _After_ starting on that magical creatures book she purchased earlier in the day, of course. She might be tired, but she was still eager to learn.

As she was reading a passage on Nifflers (and thinking about how badly she’d like one of those cute little buggers), she heard another tapping on her window. She rubbed her eyes to wipe the tired from them, then got up, letting out a little gasp as her feet made contact with the cold floor. She’d left her slippers by her desk, which was really quite stupid of her. Monty was waiting at her window again, and she let the bird in, quickly shutting it afterwards as a frigid breeze pierced through her pajamas.

Monty held out his leg so Lily could untie the letter from his leg, all while eyeing the biscuit tin sitting nearby.

“You’ll get one soon,” Lily said sleepily. She had to stifle a yawn as she unfolded the letter.

_Dear Lily,_

_About to get on the train home tomorrow, and I thought I’d write you first. Make sure you send back Monty before you go to sleep, he gets a bit restless at night. And I’m sorry if I woke you! I didn’t know how long it’d take for him to get there, so I took the gamble._

_I just wanted to let you know we’re all worried about you, Wood included. I think he might just be worried about having to find a replacement, to be honest. I asked McGonagall, though, and she said it’s highly unlikely that the Governors will even hold another vote on you. I don’t think she was supposed to tell me, though. She made a point of telling me not to let anyone else know, but she did wink at me, too. I think she knew I would write you._

_I’m sorry for waking you again, really. I’m bad at writing letters. Mum and dad always complain I never write home enough._

_Merry Christmas_

_Katie Bell_

Lily smiled, but it felt more like a confused smile than anything else. Two letters from Katie, now, and neither really said anything. They made her feel good, at least. She shooed Monty away from her desk, and wrote a quick reply to the girl.

_Dear Katie,_

_You actually didn’t wake me, although I was about to get in bed. I was reading a book when I heard Monty tapping on my window. I’m a bit too sleepy to write for long, but I’m going to send your present with Monty. Don’t open it until Christmas!_

_Thanks for the Snitch, I like it a lot! Hope you like yours! I had to shape it a bit strangely, so you couldn’t guess what it was._

_Merry Christmas!_

_Lily Potter_


	24. Gryffindor Spirit

Somebody was knocking at Lily’s door. She rolled over, pulling her blanket tightly around her chest, hoping Aunt Petunia would give up on trying to wake her. She’d probably get stuck in the cupboard for a week, but that was better than the alternative. She could smell food cooking already, her stomach rumbling at the thought of it. She didn’t want to cook for everybody else, only to be left out of the meal, sitting at the sidelines while everybody else conversed happily. She could feel that her hair was a mess. She knew that if Petunia didn’t make her fix it, Vernon would ridicule her. Lily pressed her forehead against the cupboard wall, enjoying the cool feeling on her warm body.

They knocked on her door again. Lily sighed, then opened her eyes to the dark room, a ray of light coming through the curtains closed around her window. Her face was slightly chilly from the cold air in the room, and she could still feel the pressure on her forehead. The face of Gwenog Jones was staring down at her from her ceiling. She wondered how hard it would be to move the poster to where it’d be a bit less creepy. Would it even be worth the effort?

“Lily, time to get up,” Mrs. Weasley said as she knocked on the door again.

_Was I dreaming?_ Lily thought. She could have sworn she was back at 4 Privet Drive just moments ago. The more she tried to remember it, the further back into her mind it went, until she couldn’t remember what she was even trying to do. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Gwenog Jones winked at her as she opened them back up, and Lily winked back. She swung her legs out of her warm bed, toes briefly tapping on the frigid flooring as they failed to find her slippers. She let out a soft squeak, blushing even though nobody was around to witness it.

She wondered briefly why this was the one bedroom in the house that didn’t have carpeting. She supposed Bill must not have liked the stuff, and wondered how much a carpet would cost her. Perhaps she could at least invest in a rug, just to save her a _bit_ of suffering. Her ankles still felt cold, her pajama pants now failing to cover them fully. They were a bit tight around the waist, too. She’d need to buy new ones soon.

There was no breakfast waiting on her desk, this morning. She rubbed at her eyes again, wondering how long she could continue sleeping before Molly Weasley came back up to oust her from her room. She really was up far too late last night, even when she knew she’d have to get up early. Maybe she’d have the opportunity to nap later on.

Lily decided she didn’t need to shower first thing this morning; her heart just wasn’t in it quite yet. Instead, she shambled down into the kitchen sleepily, her heavy feet colliding with each rickety stair, covered by her pink slippers. Ron made fun of her for them when she bought them, but the thought the little pig snouts were cute, so she ignored him.

She spotted her ornaments from the previous night hanging on the tree’s limbs as she passed it. Her rendition of the Chudley Cannon Seeker was sitting next to Ron’s much earlier attempt of the full team, her Gryffindor team sitting near the top, towards the star adorning the whole thing. Lily wondered if the Weasleys went to church for the Holidays like the Dursleys always did. She always got left behind, of course, except for the last two years she’d lived with them. They attended service almost weekly in those last few days. She couldn’t remember what caused the change. Something Aunt Petunia heard on the telly, no doubt. She’d never heard of any wizards attending, but they also celebrated Christmas, so who was to really say? Now she wished she paid attention in History of Magic at least a little bit. She only had notes for the toilet lesson.

“Morning,” Lily said as she finally shuffled her way into the kitchen. Arthur Weasley was sitting at the table with the paper, a plate of food sitting untouched in front of him and a cup of tea resting near his right hand. Mrs. Weasley was fussing over a pan on the stove, likely working on her own meal and Lily’s. It smelled nice. Lily sat in the first available chair, right across from Mr. Weasley, then let out a big yawn.

“Morning,” Arthur said with a smile. “Sleep well?”

“No,” Lily answered with another yawn. “Was up too late. The ghoul kept me up.”

“You’ll get used to him,” Arthur said. He took a sip form his cup, smiling slightly as he nodded in approval, then set the cup back down.

Seconds later, Mrs. Weasley was sliding a plate of sausage, beans, and toast in front of Lily before quickly sweeping back over to the counter where the tea kettle was waiting.

“Two sugars, dear?” she said without waiting for confirmation. She never did, not after the first time she asked.

“Saw your light on a few hours ago,” Mr. Weasley admitted as his wife slid Lily her cup of tea. “Had to send a quick message to the office. Ghoul really kept you awake that badly?”

Lily didn’t really like tea with her breakfast, but she took a sip anyway, and made sure to give Mrs. Weasley a kind smile in thanks.

“I went to bed late,” Lily admitted. “I was reading about Nifflers and Acromantulas, and then I couldn’t fall asleep because I was thinking _about_ Acromantulas.”

“Don’t show Ron that part, Lily,” Mrs. Weasley said as she sat down between Lily and her husband. “He hates spiders. Freaks out whenever he sees even a tiny one.”

Lily didn’t know whether to find that part funny or worrying; his room was near the attic, which, aside from her old cupboard under the stairs, was the place in the Dursley household that got the _most_ spiders. They didn’t have a ghoul up there, though, so maybe it wasn’t a problem.

“Do ghouls eat spiders?” Lily asked out loud. She could feel a blush rising quickly; she didn’t like to ask stupid questions. There was a passage in her book about ghouls that could have answered any of these questions, but she wasn’t there yet. She was still a few chapters away.

“Yes,” Mr. Weasley answered. “He keeps the house pest free, actually. We had to scold him the one time he got ahold of Scabbers; he eats rats, too. Didn’t seem too interested in Scabbers, though, so we got him back.”

“We’re actually a bit worried that’s where Neville’s toad has gone,’ Mrs. Weasley said in a whisper, “Haven’t seen him around lately.”

“I’d be more worried about Trevor attacking the _ghoul_ ,” Lily said. “Have you checked on _him_ lately?”

“Just heard him throwing around a pipe last night,” Mr. Weasley answered, taking a bite of his toast without glancing away from his paper. Lily liked how conversational he could be, even when he was distracted by something. It was a nice change of pace.

“A pipe?” Lily asked in a high-pitched, worried tone.

“We gave him a spare one,” Mr. Weasley explained. “He likes to bang it around on things, but he doesn’t actually cause any damage.”

“Have you ever prepared a turkey, Lily?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“No,” Lily answered. “The Dursleys always made a ham. I can do the sides, though.”

“You’re welcome to help me next week, if you’d like,” Mrs. Weasley offered. “We’ll season the turkey the night before, and then it goes in the oven Christmas morning.”

“What are we making with it?” Lily asked. The only thing she ever got to herself at the Dursley Christmas dinners was the cabbage; she wondered if that was why she liked it so much.

“Just the usual things,” Mrs. Weasley answered. “Nothing special, I’m afraid. We just like a nice, normal Christmas around here.”

“It’s not too late to come with us if you want, Lily,” Mr. Weasley said. “We can leave the house empty for a few hours, really, there’s no need to stay here alone.”

“No, I’ll stay,” Lily said. She was looking forward to it, actually. She could do a bit of snooping (which she probably wouldn’t actually do) or just read a book in front of the fireplace while sitting in Mr. Weasley’s spot (which she would definitely actually do).

“If you’re sure,” Mrs. Weasley said. “We’ll be going after breakfast, if you change your mind. We have some shopping of our own that we need to get done.”

“I really don’t mind!”

“It’ll be a late dinner, I’m afraid,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“I’ll cook!” Lily offered. She’d probably do it for herself, anyway, if it really was going to be that late.

Mrs. Weasley looked shocked at the mere suggestion.

“Sorry,” Lily quickly said. “I just thought-“

“Are you sure?” Mrs. Weasley said instead. “None of the others have _ever_ volunteered before. I’ve always had to drag Ginny kicking and screaming, and the boys would just leave as soon as my back was turned.”

“I’ve helped plenty of times,” Mr. Weasley said.

Mrs. Weasley pat her husband fondly on the hand. “You’re too busy with work, dear, I’d never ask you to.”

“I told you over the summer,” Lily said. “I don’t mind cooking, really, I like it.”

“Well, if you’re _sure_ ,” Mrs. Weasley said. “I won’t stop you. Merlin knows it’ll be nice to have a break for once. Just try not to burn the house down, that’s all I ask.”

“I won’t,” Lily agreed. She popped a sausage in her mouth while she thought of the possibilities.

And with that, the two Weasleys began gathering their things. Mr. Weasley put on a hat to cover his balding head, Mrs. Weasley threw on a robe over her thick sweater and grabbed her absurdly large purse, and then they were out the door. They climbed into the blue Ford Anglia, the engine roared to life, and then it was crawling down the driveway. They turned the corner at the road, and Lily lost sight of it.

Now that she finally found herself completely alone, Lily had no idea what to do with her time. She had no idea when they’d all be back, other than “late.” She started with a shower, then realized she had no clean clothes to wear. She had to settle for a school robe, grumbling as she had to pull on a skirt (she wore trousers under her robes while home), then carried her massive load of dirty laundry downstairs. As she stood in the living room, she realized the Weasleys didn’t own a washer, and she never saw _how_ Mrs. Weasley always washed everything. She glanced down towards the orange cat that was following behind her.

“How do we wash clothes?” she asked him. The cat titled its head in response, staring at her with his piercing green eyes. Lily sighed, then took her clothes back up. It was a bit embarrassing, but she’d just have to wear the school robes until they all got home. There was nothing else to be done about it. It felt a bit weird to wear them without her boots, though, so she threw them on, too. She liked how nice and snug they made her feet feel. She briefly considered throwing on her scarf, but decided she’d read by the fire, instead. It was far warmer in here. The snow was still falling outside, and she couldn’t imagine that’d make her tree very comfortable.

As she made her way down the stairs, she realized she didn’t really need the robe on, since she wasn’t even on the campus. She retreated back to her room, tossed that onto her bed from the doorway, then yanked the tie off and threw it to the ground. She didn’t even know why she put that on. Must have been out of habit. She untucked her shirt, as well, in an attempt to be more comfortable.

Lily grabbed her book on magical creatures before heading back downstairs. Weasley was sitting at the bottom step, staring up at her, and ran in a quick circle once she came back around the corner. She sat down on Mr. Weasley’s favorite worn armchair, right by the fireplace, and the cat hopped up into her lap right after. Lily spent the rest of the morning there, reading all about ghouls. She had to skip a few sections to get there, passing over Hippogriffs, Cockatrices, and Basilisks, but she wanted to know more about the thing that lived above them all. Turns out they _did_ mostly eat vermin, but she couldn’t find anything about frogs.

Making up her mind after reading the last passage, she closed her book back shut and then tossed it onto the open couch. That startled the cat on her lap, and he went running for the kitchen where it was much safer.

“Sorry, Weasley,” Lily called after him. She hopped up from her seat, deciding she’d pay the ghoul a visit, if only to see what they actually looked like. She wouldn’t know how accurate the drawings were until she saw it with her own eyes, after all, and that would give her a better idea for the rest of the creatures inside. She simply _had_ to know if the book was accurate.

She climbed all the way to the top of the stairs, her cat following tentatively after her. He maintained a safe distance from her. Lily couldn’t help but feel that he was remembering the times she fell down the stairs while at the Longbottom’s.

“Dobby isn’t here, Weasley,” she said to the cat. “I hope, anyway.”

The top floor of the Burrow was taken up mostly by Ron’s room, but there was a small landing where one could pull a cord to lower the stairs to the attic. It was a tight fit, though, to be sure. She wondered how Mrs. Weasley could ever reach this thing; she was taller now, and it was still out of her grasp. Lily had to hop to grab onto the cord, and her weight pulled the stairs down with her. She squeaked as it all crashed rather loudly onto the floor, and she almost stumbled backwards down the staircase from whence she came.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” she said to Weasley’s frightened face standing on the other side of the hallway, near where Ron’s door was. She briefly considered exploring Ron’s room, instead, when she heard a low moan coming from the attic above her. She let out a low moan, herself, then took a tentative first step onto the ladder. Steeling her courage further, she took another step, and then another.

“I’m a Gryffindor,” she told herself. “I’m a _Gryffindor_. They’re not even _dangerous_ , why are you scared?”

Lily poked the top of her head above the dark archway. Just as she thought, there was nothing to see. She tried to let out a deep breath to calm herself, but she could hear something shuffling around near the back wall, even if the light didn’t reach that far. She wondered if she really _wanted_ to see it, but she dug her wand out of her robes.

“I’m a _Gryffindor_ ,” she told herself one last time as she held her wand above her head. “ _Lumos._ ”

Her wand lit up, and a small blob darted at her from the shadows. Lily let out a shriek and instinctively tried to jump back. Her legs collided with open air as she fell backwards. Her first thought was immediately _save the wand!_ She tossed it upwards, the light vanishing beyond her vision as she collided with the floor below.

Unfortunately, her fall didn’t stop there. She hit the top stair, and soon found herself tumbling down it to the next landing, where she collapsed into a heap of pain and shame. She laid on the ground, face first, wondering if it was even worth it to try moving. Something jumped onto her back, and she let out a groan as the fat toad croaked on top of her.

“Sod off, Trevor,” she whined. She heard Weasley hiss from above, and she looked up towards the noise. She expected to see the orange feline staring at the toad he feared so much.

Instead, she saw a miniature, wrinkly, gray ogre descending the stairs towards her, carrying her wand in one hand and a large pipe in its other. Lily let another high-pitched squeal as the ghoul slumped towards her. She couldn’t find the strength to move, even though she was certain she was about to die.

The ghoul let out another groan as he stood above Lily. Then, it bent down, and Lily could smell the musk coming off of it. That only solidified her omen of death further into her mind.

The ghoul placed Lily’s wand gently next to her, putting it close to her left hand. Then, it scooped Trevor up in its now free arm, turned, and began climbing up the way it came, letting out another moan as it smacked the wall with its pipe. The toad, it seemed, now belonged to the Weasley ghoul.

“Thank you,” Lily said quietly as the ghoul closed its staircase, trapping itself in darkness once more.

_At least it looked like the picture,_ Lily thought as she continued laying on the floor. Weasley, at least, came down to join her soon after, and took Trevor’s spot as he laid down comfortably on her back. Lily laid her head back down on the chilly floor, apparently settling in for a nap on the cramped stairway.

Eventually, the cat had mercy on her, and she managed to crawl her way back to the comfy armchair in front of a dying fire. She didn’t notice the flames were dwindling until she sat back down, unfortunately, so she had to get back up, march in the cold to where the Weasley’s kept their firewood, grab as much as her arms could carry, and march back through the even colder before she could finally bring the flames back to life. She sat down once again, realized she left her book laying on the couch across the room, and gave up, since her cat was already snuggled into her lap. This time, she really did take a nap, as she didn’t think she’d ever felt quite this cozy.

She woke up a few hours later, long after missing a proper lunchtime, and realized with great impunity that she really should get dinner going, as the sun was already starting to set. She didn’t know when the train would arrive at the station, and she couldn’t, for the life of her, remember how long the drive back would take. She also had no earthly idea what to even make for a family of eight, but she assumed it couldn’t be _that_ much more than Vernon and Dudley would eat on a daily basis, since they both consumed enough for three normal people each.

She had to disturb the cat on her lap, who seemed rather rude about it, but she found herself checking the pantry soon after, her stomach grumbling as she contemplated her options. The Weasleys really didn’t have much for variety, and it really was way too late to get a roast going, so she settled on sausages for the meat. They ate those all the time, anyway. They only had a dozen potatoes left, and Lily was pretty sure her and Ron could go through that alone, but she grabbed them anyway. She was starting to get a meal together.

She fried the sausages up with some onions and peppers after peeling and slicing potatoes, with those roasting in the oven, along with some seasoned peas and carrots. She really wanted to make some croissants, but she really didn’t have the time, so she settled on scones, instead. She pulled those out of the oven just as she saw a pair of headlights pull into the driveway. She wiped the sweat from her brow, then her hands on her borrowed apron. She realized the kitchen was a mess, and she absolutely did _not_ have the time to clean it by hand, so she whisked her wand out of her pocket, and had it all done in a jiffy, stowing it back in just as she began to hear voices outside. They really weren’t all that late, Lily noticed as she eyed the clock.

“Smells good, Lilypad,” Fred said as he pushed inside the house, his trunk pulled behind him. Lily shoved him on his left shoulder, but he barely budged.

“Yeah, almost smells edible,” George agreed with a wink, pulling his own trunk along. Lily gave him a shove, too. They were still wearing their school robes, albeit disheveled ones. In fact, the whole lot of children were wearing them. Lily was thankful to have her sleeves rolled up and an apron covering her skirt. With any luck, they wouldn’t notice that she was _also_ wearing her uniform.

“You do ahead and wash up, dear,” Mrs. Weasley said, pointing to said arms. “I’ll get everything plated here, and then we’ll all eat.”

“Okay,” Lily agreed with a shrug. She handed her apron over to the waiting woman, gave Ginny a quick hug when the other girl came over, and then pushed past Ron as she went for the stairs towards the bathroom. She heard him following behind, dragging his trunk noisily. She could also hear Fred and George above, but thankfully she got to turn off into the bathroom before getting stuck behind them.

Lily had to wait a bit for the water to get warm, during which Ron stopped by the bathroom, briefly leaning in to say something.

“We’ll talk later,” he said, gesturing with his head to his trunk. “Come up to my room after everyone’s in bed.”

“Okay,” Lily said quietly. Ron nodded solemnly, then got back to pulling his trunk up the stairs. Ginny was complaining below him, urging him to get a move on. She also stopped into the bathroom briefly, accepting another awkward hug from Lily, who now had wet arms.

“Why are you wearing your school clothes?” Ginny asked as they broke off.

“Ran out of other things to wear,” Lily answered. “Why are you all still wearing your school robes?”

“The _Governors_ decided we needed to maintain the uniform when on school property, of which the train counts, apparently,” Ginny answered with a roll of her eyes. “How’s it been back here? Hope mum hasn’t been bothering you too much.”

“S’been fine,” Lily said with yet another shrug as she dried off her hands and forearms. She was starting to get chilly now that she wasn’t in the kitchen. “Read a lot, mostly.”

“Well, we can talk tomorrow,” Ginny said. “I’m probably going right to bed after supper, I’m exhausted. Courtney’s been keeping us up all night with her crying.”

“What’s she crying for?” Lily asked, wondering why she felt so much sympathy for a girl she didn’t even know.

“She’s Muggleborn,” Ginny explained with a big yawn and stretch. “She’s worried Slytherin’s monster is going to come for her since you- never mind.”

“Since I what?” Lily asked nervously, regretting her previous sympathy.

“I said never mind,” Ginny said quickly. She disappeared around the corner just as quickly, leaving Lily wondering to herself in the bathroom. She’d ask Ron later; he wouldn’t try to hide anything from her.

Lily threw her robe back on as she came downstairs to cover her already cold legs. She could see Mrs. Weasley already standing at the kitchen sink, getting a head start on washing the pots and pans while the children got their things settled. Mr. Weasley was sitting in his customary chair, staring into the flames. Lily wondered why he wasn’t at the table.

“Your things are next to the door,” he said in a tired voice with an equally tired smile. “Why don’t you run them upstairs before we eat?”

“Okay,” Lily agreed. She wished somebody had mentioned that to her _before_ she went upstairs the first time. Would have saved her a lot of effort.

She grabbed the bag, left standing next to the entryway wall, and shoved her way past Fred and George, who were coming downstairs. They were talking about some sort of pixie they trapped in a school cupboard, and didn’t seem to take notice of her. She wondered if they stole one of Lockhart’s; he released them on a different class on that first day in September, and most of them escaped after the students failed to capture them. They still cropped up, occasionally, even after the hard work the staff did to get rid of them. Lily was pretty sure Peeves was moving them around during the night.

She closed her door behind her to get a bit of peace and quiet, now that the house was suddenly very loud with chatter and laughter. The Weasleys picked up a sketchbook for her, albeit one that seemed noticeably secondhand. It must have been stored in someone’s attic as it went unused; it smelled a bit stuffy.

She loved it.

The sketching instruments she wasn’t as sure about; there was a compass, which she wasn’t sure she’d use, as well as some sort of large metallic rod that ended in a point. She never saw that in any Muggle classes, and she had absolutely no idea what it was for. There were some new paints and brushes to go with it all, at least. She left it all sitting on her desk so she could go eat; her stomach was rioting in protest. She hesitated briefly when she went to open the door, wondering if she’d be able to sneak a plate upstairs if she waited long enough. She pushed that urge out of her head, then went to join the rest of the family.

Lily was the first one sitting at the table, and she waited patiently for the other Weasleys to make their way to it, dutifully ignoring her plate until they were all seated. Ron was the last one down, and she wasted no time digging in with him. She thought her meal was quite good, although it was hard to tell from the Weasley boys. They all scarfed it down without really tasting a thing, just like usual. Not like Lily was one to talk; she was the first one done.

“Very good food, dear,” Mrs. Weasley offered, at the least. That put a smile on her face, even if she was the only one to say anything. Lily didn’t know what she was expecting; nobody ever complimented their mother, why would they do it for her?

“So,” Mr. Weasley said between bites. He was always the slowest eater amongst them, although Lily was pretty sure that was because Mrs. Weasley pawned a good bit of her own food off to him. “How was school?”

“Terrible,” Fred said.

“Won’t let us wander about anymore,” George clarified. “We have to go everywhere as a group.”

“Well, dear, there _is_ a monster about,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“That’s not all,” Ginny continued. “They keep introducing new rules almost every day, now. They tried to give me detention when I broke one that hadn’t even been announced yet!”

“And what did you do?” Mr. Weasley asked.

“Nothing!” Ginny argued.

“She tried to sneak off into the bathroom when nobody was looking,” Percy said stuffily. “Caught her myself.”

“What, is it illegal to use the bathroom now?” Ginny whined. “I still don’t see the problem.”

“The problem, dear sister,” Percy said, “Is that you did so _without_ consulting a professor or Prefect. If you had just asked-“

“I am _not_ asking somebody before I use the loo, Percy,” Ginny said. “Not in our own common room.”

“Well, we’ll just have to write the school about this, won’t we, dear?” Mrs. Weasley said. “Honestly, not letting kids use their own bathrooms, what are the staff thinking?”

“It’s not Dumbledore’s choice, Mum,” Ron said. “It’s the Governors, they’re making all the changes themselves. Said they’re even bringing in a private investigator next semester to search the school.”

“Make sure you lot don’t get in their way,” Mr. Weasley said with a sharp look towards the twins. “One suspension is enough, we won’t have the rest of you getting blamed.

Lily pushed her last carrot around her plate awkwardly. She just couldn’t bring herself to eat it. She wasn’t sure she liked carrots very much. Wasn’t sure why she even made them.

“Well, aside from all of that,” Mrs. Weasley said after the pause. “How’s Quidditch going, boys?”

“Terrible,” Fred said again.

“Ron won’t stop dropping the Quaffle during practice,” George clarified. “Can hardly keep his hands on it. Don’t know how you made it through the last game.”

“I can’t help it,” Ron said, “It’s been _raining_ the last few weeks, George. I’d like to see _you_ catch it when your fingers are nearly frozen.”

“Let’s not forget all the new tryouts, either,” Fred said. “Half the House is coming for your position, Lily. There’s an ongoing bet as to whether you’ll even be coming-“

“Fred!” Mrs. Weasley said.

“Right, sorry, Mum,” Fred said awkwardly. “Forgot, is all.”

“I think you owe _Lily_ an apology, Fred,” Mr. Weasley. Lily felt the eyes turn towards her.

“It’s okay,” Lily said awkwardly. “Really, I don’t mind. If you’ll excuse me, I- err- need to wash up.”

Lily stood from the table, brushing off a hand from Ginny and made her leave. She made her way upstairs, passed the bathroom up, and closed the door behind her once she made it to her room. She let out a deep breath once she was alone. She wasn’t sure why she felt so sad. She considered starting a new drawing, but she didn’t have her heart in it.

Instead, she sat on her bed, reading the next passage on Clabberts, a monkey-frog creature native to the southern United States. Britain apparently had them now, too, due to a shipping error that went horribly, horrifically wrong. At least their pustules were useful in potion making for making a solution thicker. That made her get up, even though she didn’t want to, and she dug out her Potions book. She had a list near the very back of the book for generic uses for ingredients, and she made a notation there before continuing her reading session.

Lily heard chatter as the other Weasleys made their way past her room. She heard somebody stop briefly outside her door, but whoever it was, they thought better of knocking, and they made their way up. It had to be either Ron or one of his parents; they were the only ones with rooms above her. Percy and the twins were both lower, while Ginny had the lowest room of all.

Lily spent another hour reading before she finally thought it was late enough to sneak upstairs to Ron’s. Not that she had to sneak; she was pretty sure she was allowed up there. She just never tried before.

The stairway was dark as Lily closed her door gently behind her, and every step she took almost gave her a heart attack; these stairs were _much_ louder when everybody was trying to sleep. She saw light creeping under the door from the room containing Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and she even thought she heard them talking about something inside. She _was_ curious, but she didn’t want to create another incident like she had with Percy; she noticed the snobby Prefect was still avoiding her gaze. He took the furthest seat from hers at the table, and didn’t so much as spare her a glance the entire time. She almost preferred it to his usual demeanor, to be honest; she never enjoyed his lectures.

Ron also still had a light peeking under his door when she arrived. She noticed the floor was a bit scuffed from where she had her fall earlier, but she did her best to ignore that. She knocked as lightly as she could, and she heard Ron scuffle inside as he made his way to open it.

“Come on,” Ron said in a harsh whisper. “Before anyone sees.”

“Why all the secrecy?” Lily asked as she pushed inside. Ron’s room was _very_ bright and _very_ cramped. It was covered in orange posters of the Chudley Cannons, the largest one taking up the ceiling above Ron’s bed, depicting the entire team practicing with the Quaffle (Lily was sure she saw one of the Chasers drop the Quaffle). She had no earthly idea why the Weasleys were so fond of placing posters above where they slept. Scabbers was laying on Ron’s pillow, already settling in for an extremely long nap. Lily thought he was looking even fatter than usual.

“You don’t want mum finding out about the map, do you?” Ron asked as he sat down on his mattress. “You did bring it with you, right?”

“She’d probably just toss it out,” Lily said with a shrug. “And if you wanted me to bring it, you should have said so.”

She leaned against Ron’s desk, her hand resting near the sleeping rat’s cage. Ron would move Scabbers into it eventually, she hoped. Neville said he liked to sleep with it on his pillow, but she couldn’t imagine that was true. At the very least, he _surely_ wouldn’t do it here. His mum would throw a fit if she found out.

“Probably wouldn’t matter anyway,” Ron said. “Castle’s empty.”

He was now holding Scabbers in one hand, and petting him with the other. Lily didn’t like rats very much, but she did find Ron’s fondness for the thing cute.

“What do you mean?” Lily asked once the boy lapsed into silence again.

“They made everybody go home for the Holidays,” Ron finally said. “Lavender said her parents were really upset about it, they had to cancel plans at the last minute. They wanted the castle empty so they could do a full sweep of the castle.”

“How is my name supposed to get cleared if there’s nobody in the castle?” Lily said with a sigh.

“You really want someone to get attacked?”

“Well, no, but it’d be convenient. If somebody was attacked while I wasn’t there, then it couldn’t be me, could it?”

“Speaking of which,” Ron said far more quietly, “Don’t be mad, but there’s word going around the school that you’re behind the attacks.”

“Me?” Lily said in a tone of fake outrage. “Wherever could they get that idea from, Ron?”

“Fine, I get the point,” Ron said. “But, still, people are starting to believe it. Gryffindor is still on your side, of course, but word is the Hufflepuffs have made a general agreement to avoid you.”

“Well, that’s going to be hard to do,” Lily said angrily. “We have classes together, what do they think will happen then?”

“Probably that you’re going to attack them all at once,” Ron said.

“How’s Nev?” Lily asked more seriously. She’d been trying to find a good segue, but she decided the dead silence was as good as it was going to get.

“Petrified, like the rest of them,” Ron said sadly. “They wouldn’t let me see him for two days. Lucky they didn’t search his robes, or they would have found the map in his pocket. He didn’t even wipe it before storing it.”

“Do you know why he went out?” Lily asked.

Ron shook his head. “I don’t think he tried to wake me, Dean and Seamus would have heard, they’re lighter sleepers. He must have seen something, though. Why else would _Neville_ of all people sneak out after curfew?”

“Oh!” Lily squeaked as she thought of something. “Maybe he saw me!”  
“Pardon?’ Ron said. “Did you _actually_ sneak out in the middle of the night, even after everything you-“

“No, no, no,” Lily said quickly, “I was sitting in the common room, relaxing a bit after Hermione went up to bed, when Dobby showed back up.”

“Dobby? You think he went after Dobby?”

“No, shut up and listen,” Lily said quickly again. “I don’t think he saw Dobby, or he would have come down sooner, we were talking for a while. But before Dobby left, my scar started hurting, and I tried to get up the boys’ stair to come get you guys. But Dobby must have done something, because I heard him snap his fingers, and then I woke up in my bed hours later.”

“So you think he was coming down to see what you wanted?” Ron said after she was finished.

“Exactly!” Lily said, pointing a finger at him in her excitement.

“But, then, why did he go outside?”

“Oh,” Lily said as her finger drooped. “Maybe he saw Dobby leave and followed after him?”

“House elves can apparate, why would he take the portrait?”

“You can’t apparate in Hogwarts, it says so in-“

“ _Hogwarts: A History_ , yes, fine, but House Elf magic works differently from wizard magic. How else did he even get in?”

“That is another good point,” Lily admitted. “Maybe he checked the map again to see where I’d gone to, and he saw somebody else sneaking around?”

“But then why wouldn’t he just come and get me?” Ron asked wisely. “We both agreed not to go chasing after the culprit without the other.”

Lily scratched at her chin. “Where did they find him?”

“Between the second and third floors, on the staircase.”

“Why would he go all the way down there?” Lily asked out loud.

“We can ask him once he’s back,” Ron said. “Dumbledore told us all that Sprout’s mandrakes should be ready before the summer, but he’s asked the Ministry to acquire a shipment of them so we can make the potion faster.”

“Why don’t they just ask St. Mungos?” Lily asked. They seemed to have all they needed based on her prior experience.

Ron shook his head again instead of the confirmation she’d been hoping for. “Ginny asked the same on the car ride back. Dad said petrification on this level is really rare, and St. Mungos didn’t have the proper solutions on hand. He also said the Ministry will take forever to get any mandrakes, assuming the request goes through at all. They don’t grow here in Britain, not anymore. Best case scenario, the whole thing will be solved by February.”

“And worst-case scenario?” Lily asked fearfully.

“Hogwarts will close down before the summer,” Ron said. She’d never heard him this nervous before, and she felt her own stomach drop at the mere thought of it. She wondered what they’d do if Hogwarts closed down, where she’d even go. She couldn’t go back to the Dursleys, but would the Weasleys still be okay with her being there? Gran certainly wouldn’t take her back at this point, she thought Lily almost killed her grandson. She was about to ask a follow-up question, when a sound from the attic above caused her to jump from fright.

“You should get back downstairs,” Ron said. “The ghoul gets upset when there’s too much noise at night, and we don’t want mum coming up to figure out what all the noise is about.”

“I thought he didn’t like things being too quiet?” Lily asked.

“No, he likes that. These are different noises.”  
“Fine,” Lily said. She could take a hint.

Ron wanted to be left alone. She couldn’t blame him; his best friend was petrified, and he was sitting there talking to the one accused of doing it.

She waved over her shoulder as she pushed her way out of the room, and she heard Ron close the door behind her. She took the stairs as gingerly as she could, stopping in fright at each _creak_ it made. She was sure that the adults were going to storm out and see what all the racket was about when she accidentally stumbled over Weasley right next to their room. She heard them shuffle, but the door never opened. She hurried past afterwards, the furry culprit swatting at her heels playfully.

Weasley slid inside her room first, and she closed the door gently behind the both of them. Mrs. Weasley would let the cat out when she got up, Lily knew that from experience. Otherwise, he spent the night in her bed. Lily stretched with a big yawn, then let out a little squeak when she heard a tapping at her window. There was an owl, and her heart skipped a beat when she thought of Katie already sending another letter. Then she recognized it as a much smaller, whiter owl, named Hedwig. The same owl, as a matter of fact, that she gave as a Christmas present to Hermione during their first year. This was good timing; she could send Hermione’s gift back with the owl.

She let the owl in, noting that it was carrying a small book with it. That, surely, wasn’t what Lily asked for as a favor, but she supposed that made sense. Hermione wouldn’t have had the time to go to a store yet. She wondered if she should cancel that request, now that she had enough to work with.

She set the small book aside while she took the letter off the top, scratching the owl’s head affectionately as she read the thing.

_Dear Lily,_

_I’ll get the supplies for you as soon as I can. Mum says she’ll take me out tomorrow, as a matter of fact. I didn’t know you drew, but I’d love to see some!_

_For now, I thought I’d send you something special. I’ll need him back when we return to school, but I managed to convince him to talk to you over the break. I’ll miss him dearly, though, so please be nice to him. Tom’s gotten me through a lot this year._

_Merry Christmas_

_Hermione Granger_

“Tom?” Lily asked as she eyed the small black journal sitting next to her fingertips. Hedwig nipped at them, though, so she offered the snowy beast an owl treat while she tied Hermione’s gift to her leg. The owl ate, drank a bit of water from Weasley’s dish, and then flew out the window. With that matter solved, Lily sat back at her desk, taking the journal in hand.

It was a small, worn, black leather journal. Lily guessed that it was a few decades old, at the least. Hermione must have found the thing in a pawn shop. She couldn’t imagine why Hermione would send her a diary, though, even if she found the thought of the bushy-haired girl keeping one adorable.

She flipped it open, squinting at the faded inscription on the cover.

  1. _M. Riddle_



“That must be Tom,” Lily said out loud. She wondered why Hermione would keep such an old journal. She thought that’d be more of a Weasley thing, and then she felt rather sick of herself. She didn’t like to think stuff like that.

Lily flipped towards the middle, trying to figure out what Hermione wanted her to read that was so important. Turned out, however, that the diary was completely and utterly blank. That only made Lily even more confused, since, now that she thought about it, she’d _definitely_ seen Hermione write in the thing before. She could remember, at the very least, the other girl scribbling away in it before their first Potions class of the term, and she remembered hearing Hermione’s quill scratching at parchment late at night at several instances.

Lily sighed, and picked up the nearest quill before dipping it in some Never-Drying-Ink. That name was a lie; it was really more of a Never-Drying- _Bottle­._ The ink would dry on parchment, but you could otherwise leave the container open indefinitely. Of course, doing that meant you’d almost certainly spill it all over everything, and it made carrying it impossible, so most of the time the cap stayed on.

Lily let out another sigh as she put the quill down on the paper, trying to think of what to write, and trying to figure out why she was even bothering. The quill released a blot on the paper, which made Lily feel slightly bad for ruining Hermione’s journal. That was short-lived, though, because the ink quickly faded away into nothingness. Lily thought that was interesting, although a bit strange. How would you read what you’d already written?

_Hello._

Lily stared at the paper in shock as the word quickly faded away, just as the ink before it had moments before. It wasn’t any handwriting Lily recognized, and most certainly not Hermione’s.

“Hello?” she said as she wrote. She bit her lip as that word, too, faded away. She counted the seconds, wondering if something else would appear in response.

_Hello, you must be Lily. Hermione told me all about you. My name is Tom Riddle._


End file.
